Sailor Moon Universal B
by Jendra
Summary: Sequel to Universal. Time has changed and Reenie is not happy about it. She heads back in time to try to find out what has changed, and change it back to the way it should be.
1. Prologue: A Little Rabbit's Tale

Hello, It's me again, Jendra, with a brand new story to tell. First however, I have to get the standard disclaimers out of the way. So let's start:

Standard disclaimer #1 I did not create most of these characters. Serena, Reenie, Darien, Amy, Raye, Mina, Lita, and a number of others are owned by Naoko Takeuchi, DIC, and assorted others. Travis, Jake, and assorted others were created by me. I don't mind if you use them, I consider it a compliment, just ask me first please.

Standard disclaimer #2 As before, first names are North American, last names and royal names are Japanese (just because I like them better).

Standard disclaimer #3 This is not my first fanfic. Universal was my first fanfic. This is a sequel to Universal and it's a really good idea to have read that one first. This plot line doesn't have much to do with Universal, but the characters (and a certain thing they found out how to do) do have a lot to do with this one. As for where this comes in relation to Universal? I'll tell you next chapter.

Standard disclaimer #4 I love getting e-mail. I love hearing what you think about my story. Please, please e-mail me, with any comments, even criticism. I want to know people are reading (besides those who already write, thanks guys)

Sailor Moon Universal B

Prologue: A Little Rabbit's Tale

A small pink haired girl slept peacefully beneath a cover of rabbits and moons. A small gray kitten was curled up on her chest. The little girl woke slowly and stretched. Still half asleep and with her eyes closed, she absently petted the complaining kitten.

"Serena! Wake up!" a voice called from elsewhere in the house.

"Serena?" she whispered, her eyes flying open. "Am I back in the..." her voice trailed off as she finally got a look at the room she was in.

At first glance it looked like Serena's room, but a closer glance revealed differences. The furniture seemed smaller than it should have been. The alarm clock wasn't the new one Serena had received for her birthday. Instead, it was a digital clock shaped like a star. There were more dolls than she remembered, and she was holding one in her arms.

She looked closely at the exquisitely made doll. Its face and hands were porcelain, but its body was huggably soft. Its wavy brown hair felt real, and it was dressed in a beautiful red gown. *_She's beautiful! Maybe Mommy gave her to me. But why don't I remember?_* Still holding it, she continued looking around the room as her mind went back to the night before.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{

Reenie and Diana raced down the stairs with Luna Ball close behind her. "Mommy, Daddy! You're home!"

"Yes, sweetheart," King Endymion smiled down at her. "We said we'd try to make it today, didn't we?"

"And," Neo-Queen Serenity said, picking Reenie up, "Everything is fixed, so we shouldn't have to leave for at least another two weeks."

"Does that mean you can take me to the park tomorrow?" Reenie asked happily.

"Little one," Serenity answered, "Tomorrow we'll spend the whole day with you, okay? I know how much you've missed us, and I'm very proud of how well you handled it."

"And now Small Lady," Endymion said, taking her out of her mother's arms and carrying her upstairs, "It's time for you to go to bed. Tomorrow, we're all yours, so you need to be well rested, okay?"

"Okay Daddy," Reenie answered as she yawned. She'd stayed up past her bed time in the hopes they would be home like they had promised.

Endymion carried her up to her room, with Serenity following closely on his heels.

"Good night, Reenie," Serenity whispered, bending down to kiss her cheek.

"Good night, mommy. Good night, daddy. Love you," she murmured. "I'm glad you're back."

"Good night, sweet dreams." Her father said. "We'll see you in the morning."

}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Reenie frowned and looked around again. She went over her memories a second time. Nowhere was there any mention of her taking a trip to the past. She didn't remember being woken up in the middle of the night and being sent into the past and found it hard to believe it had happened without her knowing.

It was when her eyes reached the pictures on the dresser that she realized there was something seriously wrong. There should have been pictures of Serena with her family, Serena with Darien and Reenie, and pictures of Serena with the Scouts. Instead the dresser held pictures of Reenie with two adults she didn't know.

Reenie stood up slowly and walked forward in a daze. Her eyes moved from one picture to another. All of them held a person who was obviously her, at different ages. Yet nowhere did she see any sign of her parents.

The kitten was sitting up and staring worriedly at her mistress.

"What's going on, Diana?" Reenie asked in a panicked voice. "Where are we? When are we? And where are my parents?"

Diana looked even more worried but didn't answer.

Reenie didn't notice. She had walked over to the window and was staring out with the same intensity she had stared at the pictures. It was Tokyo. There was no doubt about that. Tokyo Tower still thrust upward against the skyline. However, little else seemed familiar. The buildings seemed taller, and strangely shaped and some were broken. Also, the perspective was different than what she was used to.

A young woman with wavy brown hair came into the room. "Serena?" she asked impatiently, "Why aren't you dressed? You're going to be late for school."

Reenie gasped and spun around, staring at the woman from the photos. And, she now realized, she looked like the doll as well.

"What's the matter, dear?" the woman asked, concerned.

"Who are you?" Reenie asked in a trembling voice.

"What are you talking about? I'm your mother of course," the young woman said worriedly, walking towards the child.

Reenie tried to back up, but found herself trapped. Her head was swinging jerkily as she denied the statement she had just heard. "No you're not!"

"Serena," she began.

"Don't call me that!" Reenie's voice had gained confidence, "My name is Reenie! What have you done with my parents?"

A young man, slightly familiar from more than the pictures came in. "Come on, sport, you're going to be late for school if you don't hurry up," he said teasingly before he felt the tension in the air. "Is something the matter?"

"I think Serena's sick, Sammy!" the young woman said, "Or maybe she just had a bad dream, yes, that's it, isn't it sweetheart? You had a bad dream where we weren't your parents."

Reenie was staring at the young man. The name he had been called brought memories of a young kid that loved to tease her, and join with her in teasing Serena. She continued staring at him until the face clicked. It was an older version of her uncle, whom she had last seen when he was ten.

"Come on kiddo," Sammy said heartily, "you know us, you're just playing a game, aren't you?"

Reenie nodded slowly, "I know you," she whispered. Sammy and the woman smiled brightly. She continued, "But I don't know her, and I don't know why you're calling me Serena, or why you're saying you're my parents." The smiles were gone.

Sammy answered patiently, "We call you Serena, because that's your name, Serena Usagi Tsukino. And we say we're you're parents, because we are."

Reenie shook her head again. "Serena Usagi Tsukino is my mommy, I'm Serenity Usagi Chiba. My daddy's Darien Chiba, and you're my uncle. Now, where are my parents?" Reenie had started out calmly but was now almost shouting. She was very worried by what was going on. If the people

pretending to be her parents had been strangers, she would have thought it a trick by the Negaverse, or someone else who wanted a pawn against her parents. But this was her uncle, Sammy, and he wouldn't do that to her.

Sammy looked very surprised, and hissed at his wife, "Mika, did you tell her?"

She shook her head slightly.

Sammy's wife grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out into the hallway.

Reenie turned and looked at the room once more. Her eyes fell on Diana, who was still sitting on the bed, not seeming to have moved since Reenie got up. "Do you know anything about this Diana?"

Diana just sat there.

"Diana, answer me," Reenie demanded.

"Meow," Diana answered.

"That is not funny, Diana! I'm not in the mood for jokes right now," Reenie snapped, turning away. Her voice cracked as it seemed even Diana was turning against her. She struggled to control her tears.

"Why won't you talk to me, Diana? Are you as messed up as the rest of this?" She suddenly heard a small voice behind her, and a single tear of relief trickled down her cheek.

"How did you know I could talk?" Diana asked very quietly. Her young voice showed the same worry that Sammy and his wife had shown.

"I've always known you could talk," Reenie answered. "Why would you hide it? And where are 'your' parents? Where are Luna and Artemis?"

"No one was supposed to know," Diana said, still quietly, "It was one of the last things Mama told me, that no one should know, not even you."

Reenie froze, "Last things?" she whispered.

"Mm-hmm," Diana mewed softly, "They left years ago, I don't know exactly why. I was too young. I had to stay here."

"Because you were so young?" Reenie asked as she picked the kitten up.

"And because I was your guardian," Diana said, snuggling into Reenie's embrace.

"What's going on, Diana? Why do Sammy and... and... what's her name... say they're my parents?" Reenie asked in a trembling voice.

"I thought they were," Diana answered. "You were living with them when I came, and that was years ago. And her name is Mika."

"Mika... Mika? I know that name," Reenie mused. She suddenly looked down at the doll she was still absently holding. "Of course! Mika was that friend of Sammy's who won an award for the dolls she made. Did she make this one?"

"Yes, she made it for your third birthday. You call her Mi'a Doll, because you couldn't pronounce Mika. You take her with you everywhere, even places you don't take me," Diana answered, "But why am I telling you this, you should know."

"But I don't know, Diana, because this isn't the way I lived! I lived with my parents from the moment I was born. And you and your parents lived with us too." Reenie sounded like she was about to burst into tears, "I want it to go back to normal. I want to go home," she ended in a whisper.

She tried to think of a new topic. "Mi'a Doll, huh? Looks like I have the same way of naming things, Mi'a Doll and Luna Ball." She looked around, "I guess Luna Ball's not here either, hmm?"

"What's Luna Ball?" Diana asked. "Any relation to Mama?"

"Luna Ball was one of my toys, though it was much more than a toy. It could do anything I wanted it to. And it's face looked like Luna's. It even had the crescent moon," she finished, tracing the moon on Diana's forehead.

Reenie was still sitting on the bed, stroking the kitten and holding the doll, when Sammy, Mika, and another woman entered the room.

"Now, Serena," the other woman asked kindly, "What is this about you having a bad dream?"

Reenie shook herself, and tried to stop staring at the woman, in her thirties, with shoulder length blue hair. Reenie whispered, half to herself, "What has happened?"

"What do you mean, Serena?" Amy asked, "Oh, I'm sorry, you wish to be called Reenie now, correct?"

Reenie just stared at Amy for a long moment, "Maybe you can explain it to me, Amy," she finally said.

"I'll certainly try," Amy agreed.

Reenie got up and started pacing. "My name is Serenity Usagi Chiba, but I'm usually called either Reenie or Small Lady. I am the daughter of Neo-Queen Serenity of the Moon, and King Endymion of Earth." She had been watching Amy's face closely and saw her shock at those two names. "I am also niece and heir to King Tranquillity of the Sun." She looked at Sammy and Mika and realized they thought she was talking about a dream she had had. Amy still looked shocked at those names coming from a person who should have had no way of knowing they could exist.

Reenie continued, "I was born in the year 2989 in Crystal Tokyo. My parents, with the help of the Sailor Scouts, ruled there."

Sammy jerked at those words and broke in, "How did you know about them? It's forbidden to speak of them," he hissed.

"Forbidden?" Reenie asked in disbelief, "What do you mean `forbidden'? Why can't I talk about Sailor Venus, who's head of PR? What is that anyway?" she asked in an aside. "And she's leader of the Scouts when Mommy and Daddy are busy. Or Sailor Mars, Head of Palace Security and in... in... um... I can't remember the word, she's head of the spies. Of course she's not in charge of Sailor Jupiter, our personal bodyguard and head of the Royal Guard. Sailor Mercury is head of the entire hospital and school system of Crystal Tokyo, one of the things that makes it such a.. a.. shoot, I can't remember that word either, it starts with a U."

"Utopia?" Amy asked absently, still trying to absorb what she had heard.

"Yeah, that's right, Utopia. And then there's..." but she was interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.

Reenie and Mika screamed as the front door was suddenly broken in and heavy footsteps marched towards the room.

The door crashed open to reveal a large man with dark red hair, the color of blood, and dressed in a gray uniform. With him, he had a tall black youma. He stared around at the four people standing in the room.

"You have been overheard speaking words forbidden by our great leader. That is treason. Release the one who spoke them to our justice, or you will all suffer the punishment." His voice was unemotional, and all the more chilling for that.

"It was that one, Lord," the youma spoke quietly, pointing to Reenie.

The human-looking one shot a glare at the youma, he had wanted to make them tell him. It was always more fun forcing one to tell upon another. He looked at the little pink haired one who was staring at him and realized how young she was. He smiled, this could be fun after all.

"So, the child! She must have been taught, who taught her?"

"We do not know, Great Lord," Sammy said immediately, bowing.

"I don't believe you," the man said chillingly. "I think `you' taught her to speak treason. Kill him," he said to the youma.

Without any more warning than that, the youma raised his arm and shot Sammy through the heart as the others looked on in disbelief.

"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Mika and Reenie as they saw him fall. Reenie dropped the doll in disbelief. The three women rushed to his side, Amy trying to find a pulse as Mika held him to her and Reenie wailed.

"Well?" asked the blood haired man, "Are you going to tell me who taught you?"

No one was paying attention, especially Reenie, too caught up in grief to even hear. Although she had not known Sammy for long at this age, she still had fond memories of him before, and could not bear the thought that he was dead because of her. She wailed louder.

The blood haired man laughed, he loved doing this to humans. "You know," he said to the youma, "I don't think he taught her. But if it wasn't her father, it must have been her mother, kill her too."

Even if the women had been listening, they wouldn't have had any time to respond between the time he gave the order, and the time the youma carried it out. The first they knew about it was when they saw the beam go past them and enter Mika. She fell, still holding Sammy, not letting him go, even in death.

Reenie screamed, and her red eyes flared. As the fear, grief, rage, and guilt combined within her, she managed something that had not happened in the past two years. Her moonbeam appeared once more. As the white power surrounded her, Reenie threw herself at the youma. Never before had she used the moonbeam like this, but she was determined to punish them for what they had done. For one desperate minute, she wished she had the ability to become Sailor Crescent Moon or Sailor Universe on her

own. Then she threw the thought away and concentrated on making sure that the youma did not dodge.

The youma didn't. Whether he was too surprised at the power, shocked that someone attacked him, or whether she was just too fast didn't matter.

Reenie exulted as she saw the moonbeam's power turn the youma into dust before her. However, the exultation caused much of the rage and fear to drain away. As it did, the moonbeam flickered and was extinguished.

The blood haired man was on the verge of running for reinforcements when he saw the power leave the little girl. With a gloating laugh, he grabbed her.

"You think you can kill a youma and get away with it?" he asked. "The Master will be very glad to get a prize like you."

Amy had been watching all of this with wide eyes. She saw him grab the daughter of her best friend, whom she had sworn to guard. And like Reenie before her, she found she had the ability to do something about it.

The gray uniformed man suddenly yelled and let go of the little girl, as a gray blur used teeth and claws to tear into his hand. He threw Diana off of him and into the wall, and turned back to see the blue haired doctor rushing towards him. She threw a vial of something into his face, and he screamed as it hit his eyes. She grabbed Reenie, who had picked up Diana, and dragged them out of the room.

Reenie stopped suddenly. "Wait!" she cried. Before Amy could respond, Reenie tore her hand free and ran back into the room, past the blinded man, and picked up the doll. Although she had not really known Mika, she suddenly could not bear to be without the doll that Mika had obviously poured so much love into. She ran back out to where Amy was waiting, and they set off again.

As they ran out of the broken front door, the youma who had been left there saw them and attacked. Amy managed to dodge, so that the beam only hit her in the side, instead of straight on. The youma moved into position to shoot again when it heard the Lord's voice screaming for it from inside the house. Without a backward look, it turned and went inside.

Amy dragged Reenie even farther away, until she couldn't go any farther. She could feel the wound draining her life away, and finally pulled Reenie into the shadows of a hedge.

"Serena," she panted, "I don't know what exactly is going on, but I think that something in the past must have changed, so that you have a different future than you should. I think, in time, you will get

memories of your past in this time to match what they should be. Why you remember the other future, I don't know. I'm not going to be able to make it any farther, you're going to have to go to Lita's on your own. Just be careful of the youmas and 'watch' 'what' 'you' 'say'," she said emphatically.

Reenie was crying silently, tears falling down her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know you would all get hurt because of what I said. I didn't mean to do any harm. I just want my

parents back."

"Your parents are dead, Serena," Amy said harshly, "You have to live in 'this' world, because there's no way to change what has happened."

"So you're just giving up?" Reenie almost shouted, before remembering that there was no way of telling who was listening. "And my name is Reenie!"

"There's nothing else we can do, Ser... Reenie. You have to be logical about this," Amy said more gently.

"I don't want to be logical! I want things to be the way they were, the way they're supposed to be!" A fresh spate of tears fell down Reenie's face.

"There's no way to go back and change the past, Reenie, you have to live with what you have," Amy said, trying to make her understand when she noticed Reenie staring at her with her hand at her throat. "What's wrong, Reenie?"

"My key? Where is the Crystal Key?" Reenie said intently.

"The Crystal Key? I don't know what you're talking about, and it's not important right now. Listen, and I'll tell you how to get to Lita's," Amy responded impatiently.

"You don't understand! The Crystal Time Key gives me the ability to travel through time! Puu gave it to me. If I had it, I could fix things!" Reenie almost begged for her understanding.

Amy did understand, but there was nothing she could do, and she knew she didn't have much time left. "Reenie," she said softly, "It's not here. I don't know anyone named Puu, and have never heard of the key. There is nothing you can do except try to keep yourself safe and get used to this life. I'm sorry."

"I can't believe you're just giving up! The Amy I know would never do that," Reenie said angrily. "She would use her brain to find a way out, even if she didn't have her powers. Why don't you anyway?" Reenie suddenly remembered to ask.

Amy ignored the last question. "I tried, don't you think I did? We all did, but there was nothing we could do. Now it's too late."

"It's never too late," Reenie almost growled. "If you won't help, then I'll find a way to make it right by myself." Reenie got up, grabbed Mi'a Doll and Diana, and ran off.

Amy tried to stop her, but wasn't able to get up. *_Is she right?_* she wondered sadly, *_Could we have made a difference anyway? Good luck, little one. May Queen Serenity guide your steps. Princess, __watch over your daughter_,* she prayed silently.

Suddenly, Amy felt a presence above her. She turned over to look at the face of her executioner.

And smiled.

"Hello, Greg. I'm glad you found me, my love."

Reenie ran until she couldn't run any farther. When she looked around, she wasn't surprised to find herself in a very familiar park. "What do we do, Diana?" she asked softly. "There's got to be a way to make it right. There's just got to!"

"I don't know Reenie," Diana said, "but do you really think it was such a good idea to leave Amy there alone?"

Reenie hung her head, "No, it wasn't," she agreed in a small voice. She got up and started heading back slowly.

"Did you really mean all those things you said about your life?" Diana asked, interested, "You know, about being a Princess? That is what you are, isn't it?"

"Yes, I am Neo-Princess Serenity, of the Moon, Earth, Sun, and Crystal Tokyo," Reenie replied, "That reminds me, where's Uncle Tranq?"

"Who?" Diana asked, confused.

"Uncle Tranq, Travis William Watson," Reenie answered, "My mother's twin brother."

"Never heard of him," was Diana's answer.

"So something happened to him too," Reenie murmured.

Reenie was quiet for several moments, caught up in her memories of her family, and the last minutes of her newest family. She never saw the root in front of her and cried out as she tripped over it. She got up, rubbing her skinned knee, and murmuring something about being as clumsy as Serena, when she suddenly stopped. Lying in front of her on the ground was Mi'a Doll, with its porcelain face cracked.

Reenie gave a small cry as she scooped it up into her arms. The little doll was cracked far beyond her ability to fix. Reenie suddenly sat down and sobbed, hugging the broken doll to her desperately.

"What if it can't be fixed, Diana?" she asked brokenly.

"Don't worry, Reenie, we'll find someone who can fix the doll," Diana said soothingly.

"Not the doll, Diana. What if my life can't be fixed? What if this world can't be fixed? What if Amy was right? Nothing can make Sammy and Mika come back to life, and it's my fault they're dead. My fault," she whimpered.

Diana did the only thing she could think of, she licked Reenie's face and purred as hard as she could.

After a few minutes, Reenie pulled the doll away from her so she could see the damage better. As she did so, the whole face came away from the head, leaving a small space holding paper.

"What's this?" Reenie asked curiously.

"Probably just packing," Diana said, uninterested.

"I thought cats were supposed to be curious," Reenie came back absently as she pulled the paper out.

"Don't be silly," Diana answered. "You know what curiosity did to the cat."

Reenie wasn't paying attention, her entire attention taken up by the two things she held in her hands, a small package, and a letter in a very familiar handwriting.

"Mommy," she whispered. She opened the note.

'Dear Serena,' it started,

'Maybe that's wrong, by the time you get this, maybe you

don't use that name anymore. Never mind, I guess that's not

important right now. My darling daughter, I doubt you know

me, and if you do I've probably changed this note. (I'm

sorry, I'm not very coherent right now.) I look into your

red eyes and wonder what your life is going to be like. I

wonder how many of my friends you'll know, we've already

lost so much. I would love to know that you're going to be

growing up in a peaceful world. I want to be there as you

grow, see you take your first step, say your first word,

have you call me Mommy. Still I know that while that cannot

be, you'll have the best life my brother and his wife can

give you. They will love you as much as I would if I were

there. As much as I do right now, and have since I first

knew you were growing inside of me. If your father were

here, he would say the same thing. Always remember that we

love you, and always have. We have not been there for you,

and for that I'm sorry, we would have been if we could.'

'Little one, I must tell you what has taken us away from

you. Long ago, I accepted my destiny to try to save the

world from evil. I fought it at first, but I did finally

accept it. My love, my brother, my friends and I fought for

as long as we could, and in the end it was not enough, we

could not fight anymore. Still, your father died fighting

to protect us, I think that is how he would have preferred

it.'

Reenie had to stop for a moment, until the tears left her eyes clear enough to see. Obviously, the note had been meant for her when she was older, and she didn't understand some of the words, but the important ones she had no trouble reading. She continued.

'I have hidden for as long as I could, trying to protect

you. I don't think it has worked, I think HE knows where I

am. Because you are my daughter, Darien's daughter, and

Travis's niece, you have several unique abilities, and I

believe HE wants you. I will make HIM believe you are dead.

HE will never get his hands on you, I promise. My life

means little now, keeping you safe is the most important

thing in the world. Perhaps one day you will be able to do

as I have not and save this world.'

'Long before I ever dreamed of you, a young woman came up to

me and gave me what is in the package that should be with

this letter. She said that it was very important that my

daughter have it, and to keep it safe until then. I did not

know her, but somehow I believed her, and so I have kept it,

and given it to Mika with this letter for safekeeping until

you are grown.'

'I can write no longer, my daughter, and the important

things have been said. This one thing, you must remember

above all others. I love you. Your father loves you, as

does everyone who knows you. Live easy in the thought that

you live always in our love and our hearts, even if we

cannot be there for you. If you do not find it within you

to fight, I understand. Believe me, I understand. If that

is what you choose, that is what you choose, and I will love

you no less because of it.'

'Go with all my love, Your mother, Serena Usagi Tsukino.'

'P.S. Sorry for sticking you with my name, your father

insisted.'

Reenie slowly unwrapped the small package. She stared without surprise at the small crystal topped key. "I choose to fight, Mother," she said fiercely.

She carefully folded the letter, and placed it in her pocket. She gathered Diana and the doll into her arms, then raised the key into the air. "CRYSTAL TIME KEY! TAKE US TO THE GATE!"

Diana looked a little worried as the light surrounded them, even Mi'a Doll seemed worried, if her little broken face could show emotion. But Reenie just stood there stoically, going with the power, as she had learned to do. Soon they arrived at a featureless, shadowy, gray plain.

"Why are we here?" Diana asked in a very small voice. "I thought we were going into the past, to try to change it or something."

"We are," Reenie answered absently.

"Then why are we here?" Diana still didn't raise her voice, after all, there was no way of telling what might be lurking out there.

"Two reasons," Reenie answered as she walked forward. "Number one, I need to talk to Pluto, and this is where she lives."

"Where is here, anyway?" Diana broke in.

"These are the time plains that surround the Gateway of Time. And before you ask, Pluto is the Guardian of Time." Reenie was looking around her for the light that was always next to the gate. "The second reason is that the Time Key always takes you here. You cannot go to another time without passing through the Gate. So why bother saying, take me to the future, or to the past, when it's only going to take you to the gate?"

"Oh," Diana answered. She was quiet for a long moment before asking, "What's that?"

"What's what?" Reenie followed the pointing paw and glimpsed something through the fog. She walked toward it, getting more nervous by the step. Finally she stood in front of the Gate. The lantern next to it was unlit, and the area was deserted.

"Pluto!" Reenie yelled.

"Uto... uto... to... to..." came back to her from the echoes.

"PLUTO!" she yelled again, louder. Her only answer was echoes.

"Puu, where are you?" she yelled once more.

"Where are you... are you... you..." came back from the darkness.

"Puu, where are you?" she whispered, "You don't leave your post. You would certainly never let the light go out."

"So, are we trapped here?" Diana asked nervously.

Reenie looked around once more before shaking her head. She wanted to go searching, but knew how dangerous it was to leave the trail. And no matter what Diana thought, they had been following a trail well marked in her memories.

She walked up to the gate.

"So what time are we going to?" Diana asked.

"I'd hoped to ask Pluto that," Reenie said looking down at her. "Do you know when things started to go wrong with the Scouts?"

"I don't know," Diana admitted, "Mama never told me that, and no one else would talk about it, because of those guys."

"I've got to know what has happened to my home," Reenie suddenly decided. Before Diana could say anything, Reenie was in front of the gate. "CRYSTAL TIME KEY! OPEN THE GATE! TOKYO, 2997!"

The gate opened, almost reluctantly it seemed. Reenie ran through and dropped to the ground. "Why does it always open so high?" she asked in disgust before looking around. She had thought that last time she came, with all the broken crystal buildings was bad. This was much worse.

The plain where Tokyo and Crystal Tokyo had stood was empty. Not a building, not a tree, not a lake, not a person. Nothing. Desolation surrounded them as far as they could see. There was no sign that

Crystal Tokyo had ever stood there. Here and there small ruins poked up through the brown dirt that covered the plain. The contrast just made it worse.

"This is where you lived?" Diana whispered.

"Maybe I messed up," Reenie answered, "Maybe this isn't the right time. There might be a time between Tokyo and Crystal Tokyo where it looks like this. Yes, that must be it, I messed up, this isn't 2997, it's some other time."

"I don't think you messed up, Reenie," Diana sounded much more mature than a kitten. "This is what the future is going to be if we don't stop whatever went wrong."

"What do you care?" Reenie suddenly yelled. "This isn't your home! You don't know it! You lived there, why would you want to change your own past? You don't know what Crystal Tokyo was like. You don't know what my parents were like. Why should you care?"

"Because from the sound of it, you're life was a whole lot better than mine!" Diana yelled back. "Do you know what it's like never being able to talk? Do you know how I felt watching my mother walk away? I want my parents back too. I want a future where I don't have to worry about losing my ability to talk because I was never able to use it. I want a future where I can see my parents in more than dreams and memories. I want peace as much as the next being. I'm not going to let you or anyone take that hope of a happy future away from me. I won't! Do you hear me? I won't let you do that!"

Reenie stared down at the crying kitten before sweeping her up into her arms. "I'm sorry, Diana, I'm sorry. I'm just so scared. I want my parents. You know, I didn't actually believe they were dead. I thought maybe they'd been reborn and started Crystal Tokyo and were just waiting for me to join them. But they're not! They're gone! They're dead, and I wasn't even there! It's not supposed to be like this! I want my parents! I want to see my mommy and daddy again."

Reenie was crying and screaming at the same time. After all that had happened, she still hadn't truly believed. She had thought that maybe it was a dream, or a nightmare. Or that maybe her parents were just hiding to protect her. The desolation that surrounded her finally convinced her otherwise. Her parents were dead and hadn't been reborn. She was devastated by the thought. Diana wasn't much better. Suddenly Reenie pulled out the Crystal Time Key. "CRYSTAL TIME KEY! I WANT MY

PARENTS!" she yelled, and barely even noticed the light surrounding her and taking her to the plain, much closer to the gate than usual. Without hesitating, she threw herself through the Gate.

Thanks for reading, tell me what you think. Thanks Doug and Will, for a good idea for this and Will for editing. Remember tell me what you thought.

Oh, one more thing. I promise next chapter will not focus on Reenie. I'm going back to Serena, Travis and Darien.


	2. Chapter 1: Meetings and Reunions

Hello, everybody! Welcome back! Back to Universal B, back to my normal style of writing, and back to my normal main character! If you want to know what happened before, go back to the prologue. Also go back to the prologue if you want to see the disclaimers (I have FOUR of them this time.) Back to the important stuff,I love mail, so tell me what you think.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter One: Meetings and Reunions

A boy and girl dressed in a local school's uniform walked down the street. The girl had her long blond hair in a strange hairstyle, done up in two buns with long streamers falling almost to her knees. The boy was slightly taller with hair several shades more golden than his companion's blond.

"What's the matter, Serena?" the boy asked worriedly. She had been very silent since they left school, something that only happened when she had something serious on her mind. The last time she had been that silent was over three months ago.

Serena shook her head slightly and looked at her companion. "It's nothing important, Travis," she said quietly, worrying him even more.

"Don't try telling me that," Travis said, "Not only are you never this silent unless you're worried, but I can practically feel the tension radiating off of you." Travis grinned slightly. "If thou art not worried, dear sister, then thou must have the need of cheering. And fate is kind, for I am here, and I am the perfect one to cheer thy dreary day."

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you," Serena said immediately. She glared at her twin brother. "Anything to make you shut up," she muttered under her breath.

Travis clasped his hands to his heart, "A fatal blow! Oh, the pain! She has killed me with her wit!"

Serena tried hard to hide her smile as she kept walking away from her brother, who was now lying on the sidewalk miming death convulsions. Several people nearby applauded. He jumped to his feet, bowed, and then raced after Serena.

"So what's wrong?" he asked seriously as he caught up to her. All trace of joking had disappeared.

"It really isn't anything important," she said, looking up at him. "It's just Mom has decided she really wants to meet Darien and Dad has 'very' reluctantly agreed. So now I've got to introduce them to each other, and hope I won't have to call an ambulance because my father has attacked my boyfriend, or had a heart attack over his age!"

Travis breathed a silent sigh of relief, it really wasn't important, except to her of course. "So, are you going to introduce them?"

"I don't know!" Serena wailed, "I mean, you've seen how fanatic Daddy can get over me having a boyfriend. What if he does attack Darien? Or what if he has a heart attack? Or what if they just don't like each other? What if Daddy forbids me to see him again? I'll just die if they don't get along. I can't live without Darien, you know that!"

Travis' sigh was not exactly one of relief anymore. *_I should have left well enough alone,_* he thought as he listened to his no longer silent sister babble on. "So you haven't decided on a date for this meeting yet?" he asked.

Serena didn't answer.

By this time they had reached Travis' house. Travis raised his hand and allowed the large golden falcon, Apollo, to land on his upraised fist. "So, what's going on?" Apollo asked in his grating voice.

"Oh, we're just trying to figure out how to introduce Darien to Serena's parents," Travis explained.

"We can't," Serena said suddenly. "We'll just have to tell Mom that he can't get off work or something. I can't introduce them! I can't take that kind of chance!"

"What kind of chance?" a voice said from inside.

"Uncle Jake!" Travis shouted, throwing Apollo into the air and running up to throw his arms around his guardian. "When did you get home? How long are you going to stay? Where did you go? Did you do anything exciting?"

Serena giggled silently. *_He's as bad as me!_*

Jake's thoughts were not nearly so cheerful. He looked down at his ward and saw how happy he was to see him. *_I was right,_* he thought. *_Travis needs a full time father around. I know Serena's family loves him dearly and treats him like a son, but it's not the same as having someone 'here' all the time._*

"Hi Uncle Jake," Serena said, going up to give him a hug as well. Both Serena and Travis had hearts big enough that when they had found out they were twins, both instantly expanded their families to include the others. As far as Serena was concerned, Travis' guardian was her Uncle Jake as well.

Uncle Jake immediately opened the hug to include her. He had never had any trouble accepting his ward's twin sister either. Still, he had a special spot in his heart for Travis, and it was aching at the delight on Travis' face.

"I got home about two hours ago," he finally answered some of Travis' questions. "And I'm staying for at least three months."

"What?" both Serena and Travis screeched. Travis' voice for once being much louder than his sister's.

Jake looked straight at Travis. "This last assignment, I spent most of the time thinking about coming home. I missed you. And I finally realized something I 'should' have realized months ago. I'm a family man now, and my first responsibility should be you. It is you."

Travis' face went hard. "I don't want to be a responsibility, Uncle Jake," said Travis harshly. He suddenly turned and ran out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Serena stared after him with her mouth hanging open. She had never seen him act like that. Travis never lost his temper! "What happened?" she asked dazedly.

"I messed up," Jake admitted slowly. "I knew better then to use that word!" he yelled at himself. "I practiced that speech a dozen times, why didn't I realize it?"

"Realize what? What word? Uncle Jake, why was he so mad?" Serena asked intently. She was suddenly very worried about her brother, and Jake didn't look very good either.

"Travis was a responsibility to too many people, for far too long," Jake said quietly. "I think that right now, he's afraid that that is all he is to me. A responsibility."

"But that's silly!" Serena answered immediately. "Anyone can tell that you love him."

"So, you can see that, hmm?" Jake asked, smiling slightly.

"Of course. It's obvious," Serena answered. "And he loves you too."

"When has he had time to love me?" Jake asked quietly. "I'm never here."

"When have you had time to love him?" Serena asked back. "You're never here, remember?"

"That's different," Jake said uncomfortably, becoming even more uncomfortable as he looked into Serena's laughing eyes. "Okay, so it's not different."

"Talk it over with him at dinner then," Serena said, still trying not to laugh as she heard Jake argue like a teenager.

"He probably won't eat here tonight," Jake answered.

"Fine then, you're invited over to dinner at our house tonight," Serena said impatiently, "As long as you promise to try to work this out. Besides," she whispered to herself, "I could use the support."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, having heard the whisper.

"Oh, well, Mom and Dad kinda, um..." Serena stuttered, then she forced it out, "They want me to invite Darien over to dinner tonight! They want to meet him. What if they don't like him? What if they say I can't see him anymore?"

Jake stopped her before she could start worrying anymore. "Have you asked him yet?" he asked.

"No," Serena admitted, "I'm thinking about just telling Mom he can't come."

"Serena," Jake drawled.

"I know, I know," Serena muttered. "But you know Dad's going to think he's too old for me."

"Well, there is quite a difference in your ages," Jake put in.

"Don't start," Serena snapped out.

Just then her watch started beeping. Serena looked at it, then looked up at Jake, "I forgot about that, I've got to go. I'll see you tonight," she shouted as she ran out the door.

Serena caught up with Travis as he was headed towards the temple. "Do you know what it's about?" he asked before she could start asking questions about his behavior.

"I don't know," Serena answered. "Raye just said she wanted everyone to get over to the temple."

"A new enemy, do you think?" Travis asked.

"You don't have to sound so happy with the idea," Serena snapped.

"Hey, I get bored," Travis answered, shrugging.

"Well, I for one, could do with some more time off," Serena answered.

"Oh, come on," Travis laughed, "Are you trying to tell me that you aren't looking forward to actually doing something?"

"I have been doing something," Serena said harshly. "I've been going shopping, going on dates with Darien, hanging out with my friends, all the things a normal teenage girl should do. That's what I want to continue doing. Being a normal teenage girl."

"Oh, come on, you don't really mean that," Travis teased. "You don't miss having the dashing Tuxedo Mask come and save you with a rose, in the nick of time? You don't miss making those cheesy speeches?"

"You don't miss spending time with your uncle?" Serena answered back.

Travis stopped. "It's not the same thing," he said quietly.

"Yes it is," Serena answered, stopping as well.

"Look," Travis said even quieter, "I don't want to be a responsibility to him. I don't want him to love me because he has to."

"He loves you just as much as you love him. I know you think of him as a father, so don't try telling me you don't."

"Why not? You're trying to tell me you don't enjoy fighting," Travis answered.

It was now her turn to say, "It's not the same thing."

The argument might have gone on for a while, if they hadn't suddenly been interrupted by a beeping on their wrists.

"What?" Serena asked absently.

"Where are you, Meatball Head?" Raye's voice came easily through the communicator. "You should have gotten here by now."

"We'll be there in a minute," Serena answered.

"Come on, let's go before she gets even madder." They started running. "By the way, you're coming to dinner tonight, aren't you?" Serena asked.

"Let me guess, Uncle Jake's going to be there, and you want us to make up," Travis said, "Or am I wrong, and you're actually 'not' going to interfere?"

"Actually, I want you there because Mom said I was supposed to bring Darien over 'tonight', and I can use all the support I can get," Serena answered. "But if you don't want to be there, and help your only sister in her darkest hour, that's okay, I don't mind." Serena tried to keep up the sad face, but couldn't and burst out laughing.

Travis laughingly agreed to be there as they reached the steps to Raye's temple.

"So?" Raye asked as soon as they reached the top.

"So what?" Serena answered.

"So, why did it take you so long to get here?" Raye yelled.

"We were busy!" Serena yelled back immediately.

"Was it more important than a Scout meeting?" Raye yelled even louder.

"Raye!" Luna, Amy, and Lita yelled out.

"What's all the shouting about? I could hear it even up there," a gravely voice asked. They turned to see Travis moving Apollo from his fist to his shoulder.

"I just wanted to know why she was so irresponsible as to arrive late," Raye announced in an almost even voice.

"Irresponsible?" Serena yelled back. "I'm not the one that yelled out that this was a Scout meeting."

Raye slowly blushed as she realized that Serena was right. She 'had' yelled that out. "You just did!" she retorted angrily.

"Why were you late?" Amy asked, stopping the argument. "You must admit, it's not something that happens that often anymore."

"Hey," Lita put in, "She was late to school yesterday."

"Well, yeah," Serena reluctantly agreed. "But I was only so sleepy because I'd stayed up late the night before."

"Doing what? Smooching with your boyfriend?" Raye asked snidely.

"I wish," Serena said dreamily as she thought about Darien. "No, I was studying for the math test."

Raye sighed, the wind taken out of her sails again. Over the past three months Serena had continued to show a new level of maturity. She was now a 'B' student, and was usually on time. The martial arts class Travis had convinced her to start had almost cured her clumsiness. She still pigged out, and daydreamed, but not as badly as before. She still argued with Raye, but those arguments were less likely to degenerate into tongue duels. Not that it didn't still happen, but it didn't happen as often. Saturday and Sunday mornings were hers though, and the others had been threatened with a very painful death if they bothered her for anything other than an emergency. Even Travis didn't dare call her before noon. Still, her personality hadn't changed all that much, for which Raye was secretly glad. She was still loving, and a little bit ditzy although more apt to snap back at Raye instead of crying during one of their arguments.

"Anyway, why did you call this meeting Raye? Travis is hoping it's a new enemy," Serena snapped back to reality.

"So do I," Lita agreed, "It's been boring around here lately. We haven't had a fight for way too long."

"Well, I think you're going to get your wish," Raye answered. "I did a fire reading a little while ago, and I was getting some bad vibes."

"Amy, have you gotten anything on your computer?" Luna asked.

Amy already had her computer out and was checking. "I have something, but I can't quite tell what or where. It's like it's hiding, and my computer is only finding traces. They look familiar though."

"Agreed," Raye said, causing everyone to look at her, "The energy I was feeling felt familiar as well."

"Well, so far we've fought the Negaverse, a couple of aliens, and the NegaMoon family from the future, which did it feel like?" Mina asked brightly.

Raye went silent for a long moment as Amy typed on her computer. "The Negaverse," they both said at the same time.

"Then it's nothing to worry about," Serena dismissed it as her mind turned towards the dinner that night.

"What do you mean it's nothing to worry about?" Raye asked scathingly. "Do you remember how much trouble we had last time?"

"Yes, but we're stronger now, and we beat their strongest warriors then, what do we have to worry about?" Serena asked absently.

"Serena," Luna admonished, "Don't go getting overconfident! We have no idea what they might have come up with over the last year. Overconfidence like that might get someone hurt."

"Yes Luna," Serena said shamefaced. As Luna turned away to talk to Artemis, she didn't notice Serena sticking her tongue out at her.

"Better be careful, Meatball Head, or your face might get stuck like that," a low teasing voice said from behind her.

"Muffin!" she cried out, turning instantly and throwing herself into his arms.

Darien had braced himself as soon as he spoke, very used to this reaction. He caught her in his arms and held her until he was sure he had his balance. Still holding her, he looked around at the others. "What's going on?" he asked.

Before anyone could answer, Serena loudly cleared her throat. "Oops, sorry," he smiled before pulling her closer, bending down and kissing her.

When the two finally came up for air, Travis led the others in applauding. Even Raye and Amy joined in, although Raye wore a slight scowl. Luna just shook her head in defeat. Serena didn't notice, still too dazed from the kiss.

"Now," Darien said, "What's going on?"

Lita started, "A fight! Finally!"

"Where?" Darien said intently, all laughter banished from his expression. The quietness of the last few months had been making him edgy, even if it did give him more time with Serena.

"There isn't a fight yet," Amy said softly. "So far, all we have is feelings, and a slight trace on my computer. But it looks like the Negaverse again."

"The Negaverse?" Darien asked. "I thought you had destroyed them!"

"Actually, so did I," Serena agreed as she finally came out of the daze Darien's kiss had thrown her into.

"You killed Beryl, true, but she was not the entire Negaverse," Luna put in.

Artemis seconded her, "We've known for some time that part of the Negaverse was still around. We just felt that they would be fighting among themselves for a long while longer."

"You knew and you didn't tell us?" Mina asked. "Artemis, I thought you told me everything!"

"Well, not 'everything'," Artemis admitted, taking obvious pains 'not' to look at Luna. "Besides, until they came to Earth, there was nothing we could do." He wondered why the girls were giggling and the boys giving him sympathetic looks. He looked behind him to see Luna stalking him with a very disgruntled expression and managed to get from the ground to the top of Mina's head in one jump.

Everyone was laughing at the interplay between the cats. The laughter got louder as Mina reached up and pulled Artemis off of her head and dropped him right in front of Luna. "You deserve this," she said sweetly as she left him for Luna.

"I suppose he's right though. We couldn't go into the Negaverse after them," Lita said, looking annoyed.

"Who says we should?" Travis asked.

"What do you mean?" Raye asked for everyone.

"Well, we know Queen Beryl and her generals were evil, although from what I understand one of them turned good before he died," Travis began.

"Yes, Neflite," Serena said, "Molly still misses him a lot."

"Well, just because most of the ones you met were evil, doesn't mean everybody who lives there is," Travis continued. "Maybe the evil ones got control, so they were the only ones allowed through the gate."

"But Mother locked all the evil people in the Negaverse," Serena explained, "so of course they were all evil or Mother wouldn't have put them there."

"Did she?" Travis asked.

"Of course she put only bad people there. Why would she put good people there?" Serena asked, confused.

"I mean, did she actually choose who would be locked in the Negaverse, or were there already people in there that got locked up with Beryl and the Generals?"

Serena opened her mouth to answer and then closed it, the others looked much the same. Even Luna and Artemis settled down and tried to think of an answer to that question.

Raye finally answered. "Does it matter? We didn't go into the Negaverse after them, and we can't do it now, so there's no need to even ask the question. If they attack us on Earth, we're going to fight. If they don't, we won't. I believe they will though, the reading I got was too strong for there not to be a new attack soon."

"But there isn't one right now, is there?" Serena asked.

"No," Amy said, "the traces are too faint for there to be a youma in the city right now."

"I agree, it's not coming that soon," Raye reluctantly agreed.

"Then I need to talk to Darien, I'll see you later." With that, Serena grabbed Darien's arm and towed him down the temple steps.

"Serena!" Raye yelled after her. "Oh, what's the use?"

"Don't be too hard on her," Travis chuckled, "she's going to have a really bad night."

"What do you mean?" Mina was the one to ask it this time.

"Oh, just that her parents have decided it's high time they met Darien, and she's supposed to bring him to dinner tonight," Travis said.

Raye grinned maliciously.

Darien grinned slightly as he allowed himself to be pulled along be Serena. The grin faded gradually as he noticed Serena wasn't chattering at him like she usually did. However, he stayed silent until they

reached the park.

"Serena, what's wrong?" he asked quietly as she started pacing agitatedly in front of him.

"Wrong? What could possibly be wrong?" she asked in a nervous voice, not looking at him.

"That's what I want to know," he said as he walked over to her.

"I mean, besides the fact that Mom and Dad want you to come to dinner tonight, what could be wrong?" Serena babbled. "Oh Darien!" she wailed, "What if they don't like you? What if they say I can't go out with you anymore? What if Daddy attacks you or has a heart attack or throws you out of the house for being too old for me? What if..."

"Serena," Darien soothed, "it will be all right. You know nothing can separate us now."

"Not forever," Serena agreed, leaning into his hug. "But they could separate us for years. You know how my father is! He's almost rabid about my going out with boys. What if we can't convince him that we love each other? What if..."

Darien silenced her in the most effective way possible. When they were finally able to talk again he said, "No more 'what ifs', my sweet. Everything will work out, you'll see. But I had better go if I want to be presentable this evening. What time?"

It took several repeats of that question before Serena was finally able to answer it. "Oh, um... seven," she finally blurted out. "And Travis and Uncle Jake are going to be there too."

"Well, at least I'll have a little support," he smiled slightly. Looking down at her strained face he continued, "It 'will' be okay. You'll see." He dropped a kiss on her forehead and spoke over his shoulder as he was leaving. "Tell your mother I'm delighted at the invitation and will certainly be there. Does she know Travis and Jake are coming?"

"Of course she..." Serena started to call in answer. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh, no!" she cried, "I forgot to ask her! Bye!" she yelled as she ran towards her house.

In another place, far away, and yet not so far, a man stood watching the drill of an army of monsters. He was gray skinned, with hair shades darker, matching exactly the unadorned gray uniform he wore. The only color in this gray man was his blazing yellow eyes. "Emperor Rhyolite," a voice came from behind him, startling him. In an even flow, the man turned, his sword almost instantly in his hand and pointing at the neck of the young woman standing behind him.

"I have warned you about doing that, Quartz," he said sharply.

"I forgot," she shrugged, unconcerned.

"One of these days, your forgetting is going to get your head taken from your shoulders. You know how tense it is around here lately with all of those assassination attempts," Emperor Rhyolite said as he turned to watch the drilling again.

"I know, Father, but I still don't believe that this is the best way to get them to stop," Quartz said, going up to lean next to her father.

"Quartz!" Rhyolite almost yelled before getting control of herself. "You know not to do that either! No one must know you're my daughter, or they'll try to kill you, too."

"Don't worry, Father," Quartz replied, "There's no one close enough to hear, and I checked for bugs and scrying spells before I first spoke to you. No one can hear."

"I should have known," he muttered to himself.

"Yes, you should have," Quartz agreed, smiling very slightly. "You did teach me always to be thorough. You haven't answered my question yet though."

"It wasn't really a question," Rhyolite replied, "And if you can think of a better, why haven't you said anything before now?"

"You know I can't," Quartz responded in a disgusted tone. "I know the troops need someone to fight or they'll attack each other, but to attack the Earth!"

"And most of all, to put Spessarite in charge, correct?" Rhyolite answered.

"Correct! There are any number of Generals that would be better at gathering energy to open the portal. You know he's not going to be content with just gathering energy quietly. He's going to do it openly, causing as much terror as he can, in the hopes that the Sailor Scouts will show up. Then they will, and they'll destroy his youmas and we won't get the energy! If we're going to do it, we at least need to do it smart!"

"And what do you mean by doing it smart?" he questioned intently.

"We need to collect energy from a number of people at once, and then not enough so that they'll feel they've been drained. Never pull enough energy that they'll collapse, that's a sure sign that it's us doing it. You know, gather a little off the top at concerts, parties, amusement parks, places where they'll expect to go home feeling drained."

"You've been thinking about this, and it seems the intelligence department is working as well as ever," Rhyolite responded.

"Of course I've thought about this. Father, you know how Spessarite will screw it up! You've got to put someone else in charge!" Quartz was almost pleading.

"I can't, Daughter," he said extremely quietly. "Spessarite leads the biggest faction. If I don't give him this assignment, his people will rebel. The others will follow. This war is the only thing that is keeping the Generals from going at each other's throats again. We have had too much of civil war as it is. We could not survive another one."

"Why did you ever have to be proclaimed 'Emperor'?" Quartz asked despairingly. "Life was so much less complicated before. All we had to worry about was Beryl killing you for your strange ideas of leading men or because you were one of the Nals. The only reason she didn't was because you always won."

"Someone had to take over," Rhyolite said, "Better me than someone like Spessarite."

"I suppose that's true," Quartz said contemplatively. "But you don't mind if I hope the Sailor Scouts will kill..." her voice trailed off. "That's what you hope too, isn't it?" she said in amazement. "You know how he'll be, you 'want' the Sailor Scouts to kill him, don't you?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Rhyolite asked mock gravely.

Quartz wasn't listening. "Once he dies, you can proclaim that Earth has taken too many of our best generals, and it will be best if we hold off on the war against them until we're stronger." Quartz's voice was still filled with shock as she turned to her father and bowed. "Congratulations Father, I had no idea you had it in you."

"You had to get your cleverness somewhere," Rhyolite grinned. "Still, if it doesn't work, we're going to have to think up a way to defeat the Sailor Scouts. There is no other way I can put it off."

"I'm pretty sure I do know a way," Quartz said softly. "But if I hadn't learned about this plan of yours, I never would have told you."

"I know," Rhyolite agreed, "I have no idea where you got that sense of honor."

"Oh, I think you do," Quartz grinned. She checked around to make sure no one was watching, then stood up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "You know, when you come right down to it, you're a very bad evil emperor."

"Maybe that's what the Negaverse needs at the moment."

"Maybe it is," Quartz murmured. "I'll see you later."

"Next time announce yourself first, okay?" he called after her.

"Maybe!" she yelled back.

The youma who had been clinging above the balcony looked around carefully to make sure it was still unseen and then scurried off to tell his master the conversation he had just heard.

After running to tell her mother about their extra guests, Serena had rushed upstairs to get dressed. She wanted to look nice for Darien, and yet didn't want an outfit that would cause her father to growl. Luna, who had come in after handling Artemis was forced to watch a fashion show as Serena tried on outfit after outfit and discarded them all.

"Too young. Too old. Too plain. Oh Dad would have a fit over this one, bet Darien would like it though, hmm Luna? Way too casual. I don't have anything to wear!" she wailed.

Her mother walked into the room. "What's the matter dear?"

"I don't have anything to wear! Dad would have a fit over most of these, and who would want to wear the rest of them?" Serena seemed about to burst into tears while her mother smiled in understanding.

"You seemed to like them when you bought them," she said gently.

"That's different! That's for other things. This is special and I need something special to wear!" Serena seemed about to go into a full wailing fit.

Her mother briefly reflected how rare they were getting but couldn't help but wish they were a bit rarer. "What about this?" she asked, holding up a white dress.

"But that's so boring!" Serena exclaimed.

"Not if we do it right," she explained.

Hours later, the doorbell rang. Serena raced down the stairs to answer it. Her smile was bright, if a bit nervous as she opened the door. She collapsed in relief for an instant as she realized it was only Darien

Jacobson, not Darien Chiba.

"Hi Uncle Jake, come on in," she bubbled, putting her happy expression back on.

"Thank you, Serena. You look very nice tonight," he said sincerely.

"Do you really think so?" she asked, twirling in front of him. She was dressed in the white dress and had used an extremely long pink scarf as the belt, collected in a bow in the back, the ends just reaching the bottom of the skirt. A pearl bracelet graced one arm, while a pink watch she never seemed without was on the other. Pearl barrettes and a pink choker completed the outfit.

"I do indeed," Jake agreed, stepping in and saying hello to the rest of the Tsukino's.

The doorbell rang again and Serena raced to open the door. Travis stood on the other side. He looked at her for a minute. "I thought you weren't going to interfere," he said, pointing at his uncle's car in the

driveway.

"I never said that," Serena argued, pulling him into the house.

"That's how it sounded to me," Travis resisted the pull.

"Then you should have listened more closely," Serena smiled, gave a yank, and pulled him into the house.

He gave up and followed her as she led him towards the living room. She pushed him inside and motioned to her parents to leave after they said hello. She slammed the door and leaned against it. "You two aren't getting out of there until you talk this out!" she yelled through the door.

The doorbell rang again and Serena started to bolt towards it. She then remembered her self-imposed duty of making sure Travis and Uncle Jake worked things out. She glanced at the front door and then the door to the living room. As she stood there undecided, her mother walked toward the front door and opened it. Serena walked back and leaned on the living room door again while keeping both ears and eyes trained on the conversation at the front door.

Darien's eyes immediately went towards her as her mother opened the door. Serena smiled nervously at him and Darien smiled back reassuringly. Her mother watched this with a smile of her own. Darien's eyes went back to the woman in front of him.

"Hello Mrs. Tsukino," Darien said, "Thank you for inviting me to your house."

"You're welcome, Darien isn't it?" Mrs. Tsukino said, leading him into the house.

"Yes Ma'am, Darien Chiba. I hope you'll accept this token of my appreciation," he said, handing her a bouquet of red roses.

Mrs. Tsukino oohed over the hostess gift. "I'll put them straight into a vase. Thank you, Darien, this was very thoughtful," she said, leaving him in the hall with her daughter and husband. As she passed the latter, she whispered, "And he's well mannered too."

"Humph," was all Mr. Tsukino said to that as he walked toward the young man. His reaction was not nearly as favorable. *_This is a college student! Why is he hanging around my innocent daughter? He's way too old for her, and I'm going to tell him so!_* At that moment he caught his daughter's pleading eyes, and knew he couldn't send him away immediately. *_But as soon as this dinner is over, I'm going to make sure he doesn't see her again!_*

Darien braced himself as Serena's father came up to him. He noticed the way Mr. Tsukino was glaring at him and expected an immediate demand to get out of the house. He was surprised when Mr. Tsukino only growled a hello.

Mr. Tsukino was about to start grilling Darien when his wife's voice came out of the kitchen. "Honey? Will you hold off on asking the young man any questions until dinner please? I think we would all like to hear the answers." Mr. Tsukino walked away grumbling.

Darien was looking at his girlfriend and his eyes gleamed at how pretty she looked. He raised his eyebrow to ask why she hadn't come to say hello and her lips quirked into a grin as she looked at the door she was resting against. He remembered the car he had seen outside and nodded his understanding.

Mr. Tsukino noticed the silent communication going on between the two, and knew it was not something that could happen overnight. He almost growled protectively.

Inside the living room, Travis and Jake had stood silently for a long moment before they both started speaking.

"I'm sorry I..." "I didn't mean..."

They laughed uneasily for a second, and then Jake nodded at Travis to go first.

Travis took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I yelled at you this afternoon. I guess you just hit a sore spot."

"I know," Jake said, "I knew as soon as I said the word. I didn't mean it like that, Travis. You could never be a responsibility to me. I'm staying home because I 'want' to, not because I have to. I want to

spend more time with you. And before you say anything about my being bored without a job, I've decided to try to do a story on the Sailor Scouts."

Travis' eyes immediately shuttered and he tried hard to keep the smile he had had since he heard and believed what his guardian was saying about wanting to stay home with him. "The Sailor Scouts?" he asked, "I don't think they've been seen for the last couple of months, have they?"

"No, and that's one of the reasons I want to do a story on them. Why haven't they shown up? Why do they fight, and what are those monsters? Who were the new Scouts that showed up just before they disappeared? I'm really excited about this. Don't you want to find out who they are?"

"Not particularly. I'm just glad they're here and leave it at that. They might not appreciate someone trying to find out their secrets." Travis was trying desperately to think of a story that might be more

interesting or a reason his guardian would accept for not doing that story. He couldn't think of anything. *_He wouldn't print anything about our real identities, would he? If he found out it was me and Serena, he'd drop it, wouldn't he? Wouldn't he?_* Although his heart was yelling 'Of course he would' his mind told him he couldn't be sure. He decided to wait and watch.

Jake sniffed the air. "It smells like dinner is ready, are we made up yet, so we can go eat?"

Travis forced a laugh. "I think so," he agreed.

Jake went over and opened the door. He jumped back quickly as Serena, who had been leaning against it, crashed to the floor.

Serena screwed up her face and opened her mouth to wail, before remembering that she needed to act mature in front of her father tonight. Wailing would not be a good way of convincing her father that she was old enough to have a boyfriend.

"Didn't you know that the door opened inward?" Travis asked, laughing as he picked her up. Darien was there at her other side as well. Travis spoke so both of them could hear but his guardian couldn't. "We've got a problem, I'm calling a Scout meeting first thing tomorrow morning. You too Darien."

"But Travis, tomorrow's Saturday!" Serena whined quietly, visions of her being forced out of bed before noon floating through her head.

"It's an emergency Serena! Nine o'clock tomorrow morning at the temple." Travis looked directly into her eyes until she agreed. Darien gave a calm nod as Travis looked at him.

Jake wondered what they were talking about so intently, but Mrs. Tsukino's voice calling them to dinner came at that moment. They separated and walked into the dining room. Sammy, who had been playing in his room until then, was already seated at the table. Mrs. Tsukino had placed Darien next to Serena, and Mr. Tsukino growled when he saw that.

As soon as they started eating, Mr. Tsukino started in. "Just what are your intentions towards my daughter, young man?"

Darien thought about it for less then a second. "Honorable. I intend to marry her when she's old enough."

Serena smiled in delight but Mr. Tsukino continued to glare. "Don't you think she's a little young for you?"

"I don't think age really matters," Darien answered steadily. "Not when love is involved."

"She's a little young to know what love is, don't you think? Aren't you really taking advantage of her by convincing her she loves you when she hasn't had a chance to love anyone?"

"Daddy!" Serena's voice cut through the silence. "Darien has never tried to convince me that I love him! I'm the one that's had to do the convincing!"

Darien put his hand over Serena's to silence her. "Serena knows more of love then I do, she's had it all of her life. Are you telling me you never showed her any love, so that she wouldn't know it when she feels it? The only way Serena could not know what love is, is if it was never shown to her, or she had never felt it. And she has more love in her than anyone I have ever met."

Mr. Tsukino took a moment to eat and regather his thoughts. He hadn't expected that strong a defense. He decided to take another track. "All I'm saying, is that she's a little young for you to be so sure. I think it might be best if you didn't see each other for a while to try to get a perspective." He expected a whining fit from his daughter over that. He didn't get one.

"No way!" Serena shouted, rising from her chair and leaning over the table. "There is 'no way' we are going to separate for a while. Especially not for my own good! We went through that! I've had him break up with me before because he thought he was protecting me. Never again! We were both absolutely miserable, and I will not allow you to do that to me again! I love Darien, Father, and you need to get used to the idea because we will eventually be married. We are not planning on doing anything soon, I promise you that. But I will not stop seeing him, or allow you to make us. Do you understand?"

Everyone was staring at her in shock. The adults and Sammy had never seen her like this before. Travis and Darien had, but only when protecting her daughter. She was obviously ready to fight anyone and everyone that would try to come between them.

Darien stood up and put his hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back to her chair. She reached up to hold his hand as he stood behind her. "Mr. Tsukino, I do agree with Serena. We're not going to let anyone separate us again. It's not truly the difference in our ages that you object to, is it?"

Mr. Tsukino was still in shock over the way his daughter had talked to him, so his wife stepped in. "What do you mean, Darien? What else could he be objecting to?"

"Her age," he answered gently. "If we were ten years older, no one would think anything of a thirty-one year old dating a twenty-five year old, would there?"

"No, that would be considered a good match," Serena's mother agreed, understanding what he was saying.

"But she's only fifteen!" Mr. Tsukino had finally gotten his voice back.

"But she promised, and so do I, that nothing is going to happen for years. We are not going to get married until 'she's' ready, and if that means not until after college, then so be it. I can wait, as long as I know that no one is going to try to separate us again." Darien spoke sincerely, and looking into his eyes, Mr. Tsukino could see he meant every word he said.

He sighed, the wind taken out of his sails. He couldn't argue with the united front the two had put up and looking into his daughter's determined eyes, he wondered for a second what she would do if he did refuse to allow them to date. He realized in shock that he didn't want to find out. His daughter had grown up and he had refused to see it.

Darien sat back down and silence surrounded the table.

Jake broke it. "I hope I don't have to go through that with you," he said quietly to Travis.

"Oh, don't worry," Serena said absently, "his girlfriend's his own age."

"Oh really?" Jake said, looking at his ward, "and who is she?"

"Yes, who is she?" Mrs. Tsukino asked, "You haven't told us about any girlfriend!"

"That's because I don't have one!" Travis denied.

"What about Crystal?" Serena asked mischievously.

"That's that new girl at your school, isn't it?" Sammy asked, having been warned 'very' strongly ahead of time about butting in during the questioning. "I've seen you around with her."

"She's not my girlfriend! She's just a friend, that's all!" Travis said desperately.

"Methinks he doth protest too much," Jake teased. He looked at his watch. "Thank you for the delicious dinner, but I forgot I have a meeting about the story I'm planning. I'll see you at home, Travis. I'll see the rest of you later." He grabbed his coat and raced out of the house.

"Bye," Mrs. Tsukino called after him, slightly stunned over how fast he had moved.

"What's the new story about, Travis?" Mr. Tsukino asked, finally getting back into the conversation.

"He wants to do a story on the Sailor Scouts," Travis admitted. Serena and Darien looked at him sharply and he nodded very slightly.

"Oh, neat!" Sammy exclaimed, "Maybe he'll find out who they are!"

"Maybe he will," Travis answered grimly.

As the conversation turned to the Sailor Scouts, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Sammy yelled, jumping from his seat and running to the front door.

Serena, Darien, and Travis were trying to show the proper enjoyment of the conversation when Serena's head jerked up. As the others stared at her, she shoved her chair back and stood up. Without seeming to pay attention to anything, she walked towards the door. The others quieted and listened. They could hear a faint wailing noise getting louder. Suddenly the door of the room slammed open and a pink haired little girl, dressed in pajamas and clutching a doll and kitten, ran into the room.

"Mommy!" she cried. Sobbing, she threw herself into the arms of Serena who had bent down to catch her.

Oh, I just love leaving off in places like that (can you think of a better?) I'm sure you've noticed by now that this takes place about three months after the end of Universal.

How are they going to explain 'this' to her parents? What are the Scouts going to do about Jake? And what is Spessarite up to? Just three of many questions that will be answered in Chapter Two.

Remember, write and tell me what you thought.


	3. Chapter 2: Revelations

Hello everybody! Hi there! Hello! Nice to see you again! Now that that's over with, on to the important stuff. Some of these characters are mine (one) some are not (most), I don't mean anything bad by using these characters, so don't take it the wrong way. (It just means I really, really like them).

Since the Tsukino's don't have NA first names, I made some up. Kenji is Ken, no big surprise there. Ikuko however is Ellen, and I didn't make that up, Will suggested it, and I really liked it, so Ellen it is.

If you want to know what happened before, you really need to read Universal and the first part of Universal B. If you don't know about some of these things, you'll end up confused.

(I'm kind of babbling, I know, I'm in that kind of mood today.) If you like the story, e-mail me! If you don't like the story e-mail me! If you don't have any preference one way or the other, e-mail me! I want to know!

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter Two Revelations

Serena stood holding the little girl gently in her arms, trying to soothe her. Everyone else was staring at them in disbelief. Mr. Tsukino's face started to get red. Sammy came running into the room.

"Who is she, Dad?" he asked breathlessly. "I opened the door and she burst into tears and ran past me before I could stop her!"

"I don't know, but I want to know," Mr. Tsukino said rising to his feet. "Who is she? And more importantly, why did she call `my' daughter `Mommy'?" He was almost shouting at this time, but Serena just ignored him. Travis stepped in to try to help things out.

"It's just that when she was living here, she got to thinking of Serena as a substitute mother," he said gently. Darien was shaking his head warningly, but Travis didn't notice.

"What do you mean, `living here'?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.

Travis stared, perplexed, and Darien decided to step in. "He means, when she was living here in town. She had recently lost her mother and latched onto Serena as a substitute. Don't you remember?"

Mrs. Tsukino looked at the little girl who was still crying. "She seems vaguely familiar, doesn't she dear?"

Mr. Tsukino took a quick glance at the little girl and started to calm down at Travis' explanation when his temper took another hit. The pink haired child suddenly asked in a broken voice, "Where's Daddy? Mommy, where's Daddy?" she looked around and saw Darien. "Daddy! she cried.

"DADDY?" Mr. Tsukino yelled. "That's the last straw!"

"Calm down, Ken," his wife said quietly.

"Calm down? Calm down? My daughter's been playing house with a college boy and you tell me to calm down!" Mr. Tsukino was in a rage. He'd already had to agree that his daughter and that boy could continue seeing each other, but this had gone `far' beyond that.

"It's not like that, Mr. Tsukino," Darien announced even as he moved towards the two girls.

"Stay away from my daughter, young man!" Mr. Tsukino shouted.

"Father!" Serena snapped, speaking to the others for the first time since Reenie had entered. "Will you stop being so silly?"

"Silly? Silly? I should ground you until you're thirty! It's bad enough you're dating someone so much older than you, but to pretend to have a child with him! That's going too far!"

"I'm going into the living room, you're scaring Reenie. Don't come in until you're calmed down or we'll be spending the night at Travis'." Serena turned on her heel and walked out the door with Travis and Darien in tow right behind her. Her father was left behind, his jaw opening and closing as he tried to get over the shock of having his daughter talk to him that way for the second time that night! He growled and followed them.

Sammy started to follow his father, there was no way he wanted to miss this. It sounded like his sister was going to get in big trouble and he wanted to be there to see and enjoy the whole thing.

"Sammy," his mother said as he was about to walk through the door.

"Yes, Mom?" he asked as he stopped.

"Why don't you go to your room and play? I think we need to talk to your sister alone." Mrs. Tsukino's voice was kind but firm.

"But Mom!" Sammy said pathetically.

"No buts, young man, please go to your room, and I better not find out that you sneaked down and were listening."

"But... but..." Sammy was silenced by a look from his mother and slowly dragged his feet over to the stairs. He looked back to give his mother a pleading look, but she wasn't falling for it. He went upstairs and Mrs. Tsukino followed her husband into the living room.

Serena and Darien were seated on the couch, still trying to get Reenie to stop crying. Travis was ruffling the girl's pink hair.

"I want an explanation," Mr. Tsukino said, in a fake calm voice. "Why does she call you `Mommy' and him `Daddy'?"

"Well, like I said, she had just lost her mother when she came here," Darien started and then stopped as he tried to figure out an explanation for the rest of it.

Serena took it out of his hands. "Darien had just broken up with me," she looked sharply at her father, "Someone had convinced him it was for my own good. I needed someone to love, and Reenie needed someone to love her."

"It was pretty much the same with me," Darien agreed. "Reenie needed someone, and so did I. Being away from Serena hurt so bad, but Reenie could take some of the loneliness away."

"When Darien decided to take a month long vacation, Reenie and I got closer, and then once we heard he was dead... That's when she started calling me mommy. It's also when I started to feel like she was my daughter. She's a lot like I was at her age. Once he came back and we got back together, she started calling him daddy."

"How did you think that up so fast?" Travis whispered.

"It's the truth," Serena answered just as quietly. "Think about it."

"Mommy," Reenie whispered, her sobs quieting to a seemingly endless rain of tears.

"You ready to tell us what's wrong, Sweetheart?" Serena asked softly then whispered, "First, we really need to rehypnotize my parents, where's Luna Ball?"

"Luna Ball hypnotized them? Is that why they don't remember her?" Travis asked, almost loud enough for her parents to hear.

Serena nodded absently and bent to catch her daughter's whisper, "It's not here," Reenie answered. "It's gone, everything's gone."

"What do you mean?" Darien asked intently.

Mrs. Tsukino saw how intently they were all talking, and knew that something serious must have happened. However, she also knew that someone must be worrying about such a little girl out alone. She put her hand on her husband's arm as he seemed about to start shouting again. "Travis," she called.

"Yes, Aunt Ellen?" Travis said, standing up and walking over to them.

"Do you know where she lives?" Mrs. Tsukino asked, nodding to Reenie. "I'm sure there are worried people looking for her."

"I doubt it," Travis muttered in a low voice. He continued in a louder tone, "No, I don't know. I heard that she left Tokyo about three months ago. The last time I saw her was our birthday party."

"Oh dear," Mrs. Tsukino thought for a moment, "Well, if no one knows where she lives, then we'll just have to call the police and report her to missing persons."

"You can't do that!" Travis practically yelled causing Serena, Darien, and even Reenie to look up. "I mean, if they can't find her family they'll put her in an orphanage or something. You can't do that to her! You don't know what those places are like!"

"Neither do you, Travis. You were adopted when you were only a couple of months old," Mrs. Tsukino responded, surprised at his vehemence.

Serena noticed the conversation and wondered what was upsetting her brother so much. She handed Reenie to Darien, and walked over to the rest of her family. "What's the matter?" she asked worriedly.

"They said they're going to call the police about Reenie," Travis announced. "If the police take her away, they're going to put her in an orphanage! It can't happen Serena, you don't know..."

"I don't know what, Travis?" Serena asked gently. She was even more worried, Travis was actually shaking.

"My parents told me a lot about orphanages. When I was little, they always said how they would send me back if I didn't behave. You can't let the police take Reenie to a place like that!"

"Travis," Serena said gently, "you know it's probably not really like that, your `parents' just wanted you to behave, that's all. But don't worry, the police won't take her away," her eyes and voice were suddenly hard again. "That's `not' going to happen."

"Serena, we must report that she's here," her mother said gently. "The police must be informed, her family is probably worried sick. I know how I'd feel if you were missing."

Serena shook her head. "Her family knows she's here, there's no way she could have gotten here otherwise. She doesn't even live in Tokyo anymore; she couldn't have come by herself."

Travis looked at her in shock. "Serena, what the heck are you doing?" he hissed too low for her parents to hear.

She threw a smile at him before turning towards the two on the couch. "Reenie?" she called gently. When she got no answer, her voice got a little louder. "Small Lady," she called, forcing the little girl to look at her. "Are your parents in danger again?" she asked softly.

Reenie nodded, at first slowly, then desperately.

"Danger? What do you mean danger? And I thought her parents were dead?" Mr. Tsukino asked, totally confused and more than a little worried.

"No, her parents aren't dead, at least they weren't the last time I talked to them," Serena said, having been too preoccupied to really hear Darien's explanation.

"That boy said that she lost her mother, and that's why she treated you as one!" Mr. Tsukino's voice started to get louder as he considered that `that boy' might have lied to him.

"Well, I suppose that's one way of thinking of it," Serena said thoughtfully. "But she didn't lose her mother by her dying."

"Oh, the poor dear," her mother put in immediately, "Divorce is so hard for children that age. So her father got custody, hmm?"

"No Mom, not divorce either. Her parents were... diplomats." *_Be careful, Serena,_* she thought to herself, *_can't tell them too much of the truth, but this might just work._* "They were attacked, and her mother was in... a... a coma! That's the word I wanted. Because her father was busy, doing both of their jobs and taking care of his wife, not to mention he was worried about her getting hurt, Reenie came to stay with family here in Tokyo." *_There! And not a single `real' lie in the whole thing._* Her parents watched their daughter during the whole explanation. They knew she didn't lie to them. Serena was elated as she watched her parents' expressions as they started to accept it.

"So why is she here now?" her father asked.

Serena had already thought of this. "Her parents are in danger again. Maybe it's the same people as before, maybe somebody different wants to hurt them but I guess they wanted to get Reenie out of the way, and knew I would take care of her." She changed that. "I mean, they knew `we' would take care of her. We will, won't we? Please? We can't let her get hurt, they expect us to make sure of that. Please let her stay! Please, please, please!" Serena seemed about to drop to her knees and beg.

Travis had finally gotten over the shock of what his sister was saying. He decided to help out. "It's okay, Serena, I'm sure if your parents won't let her stay, my uncle won't mind if she comes and lives with us. He'd never turn away a little child who's in danger like that."

Serena's parents turned, almost automatically it seemed, and looked at the little girl. She had almost gotten her tears under control and was looking at them with tear wet red eyes. Dressed in her pajamas, clutching a bedraggled gray kitten and broken doll, she was a pathetic picture. One no mother could resist.

Mrs. Tsukino showed herself to be as susceptible as any other would. "Oh, the poor little girl. How would we explain her if she did stay here?"

Reenie answered this one. She had finally gotten enough control of herself to join in. She slipped off of Darien's lap and walked over to Mrs. Tsukino. "Auntie Ellen?" she asked timidly.

"She could be my cousin, couldn't she?" Serena asked.

Mrs. Tsukino couldn't help herself, she swept the little girl up into a hug. "I guess it wouldn't hurt if you stayed here for a little while," she agreed.

Mr. Tsukino obviously wasn't convinced. "Hold on Ellen, don't go making promises you might not be able to keep. I still have some questions. What's your name, little girl?" he asked.

"Reenie," she answered softly.

"Reenie what?" he asked again.

She hesitated, throwing a desperate glance at her mother and father. *_I can't say Chiba or Tsukino,_* she thought to herself, trying desperately to think of a name. As Mr. Tsukino seemed to be getting impatient she finally blurted out the only thing she could think of. "Moon!"

Serena, Travis, and Darien blinked in shock but the adults didn't seem to have any trouble accepting it. "Is that with an E?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.

"Yeah, Moon with an E, that's my last name," Reenie agreed quickly.

"And your first name? I'm sure it isn't really Reenie," Mr. Tsukino continued with the questioning.

Once again, Reenie tried to think of an answer that wouldn't give anything away. She knew she couldn't use Serena, but nothing else was even close. She looked over at her mother who was mouthing something. Reenie tried to read her lips. "Serenity," she finally realized. "Reenie is short for Serenity. Serenity Moone."

Darien waited until he was sure he wasn't being watched before he dropped his head in his hands. "Serenity Moone?" he mouthed to himself. Even with the seriousness of the situation, it was all he could do to keep from laughing. He looked up to see Travis' eyes twinkling madly as he tried to keep his lips from twitching. Mr. Tsukino's next question drove all thoughts of laughter from their minds.

"Why here? Serena said that you stayed with family last time you were in Tokyo, so why aren't you staying with them this time?"

Reenie opened her mouth to say "I am," and then realized that would be a really bad answer. Instead she said, "Puu's gone."

Serena, Travis, and Darien gasped. The older Tsukinos looked at them in surprise but they didn't notice.

"What do you mean, Puu's gone?" Travis asked. "Puu never leaves." He had just stopped himself in time from saying Sailor Pluto.

"She's not there! She's not home and... and it looks like she's been gone a while," Reenie answered. "It's all dusty, and the light at the gate is out."

"I didn't think Puu was able to leave," Serena said, "at least not for long."

"That's what I thought too," Darien agreed. "Are you sure? You went there first, right?"

Reenie nodded, "Mm-hm, I went there before I came here, it's empty."

"Have you heard anything about it?" Darien asked Serena.

She shook her head. "I thought she was still there, I didn't have any reason to think otherwise, and there was nothing I could do about it anyway."

The younger members of the group had pretty much forgotten the older ones in their shock at the news. They barely remembered them enough to not use Sailor Pluto or the Gate of Time. However, their conversation allowed the parents to draw a few conclusions of their own.

Ellen Tsukino handed Reenie back to Serena and said, "I need to talk to your father, we'll be right back." She took his arm and led him out of the room.

Once they got outside of the living room, and she checked to make sure Sammy wasn't around spying on his sister she turned to her husband. "It sounds like the person she was supposed to stay with is dead or has moved and her parents didn't know. It also sounds like that person would not have been a very good caregiver in the first place. Not able to leave her own home! No wonder that little girl found someone who would, and could, care for her outside. I think we should let her stay. If what Serena believes is true, sending her back to her parents could just put her in danger."

"Think about it logically, Ellen. Her parents must think she's with this `Puu' person. Though any parents that would just drop a child off and leave her without even checking to be sure someone was home, are criminally negligent. I think we should call the police and let them handle it."

"But they'd put her in an orphanage, Ken. Travis is right about that. And he seems so... so... I would almost say he's scared of them. I know his parents were just trying to scare him into being good, though I can't really imagine him misbehaving, but what if it `is' like he fears?"

"Look dear, at the moment, our problem isn't with Travis, it's with that little girl, Serenity. I say we should call the police, and they can get in touch with her parents." Ken hugged his wife, "I really do think it would be the best thing."

"And if they take her back to her parents, and she gets hurt or killed? Would Serena ever forgive us? Would `we' ever forgive ourselves?" Ellen leaned her head against his shoulder. "She's such a cute little girl, and she reminds me so much of Serena at that age. I just can't bear to think of her being hurt. Can't she stay for a little while, at least until Serena has a chance to get in touch with her parents? She said she'd talked to them before."

"That's another thing, how come we haven't heard of this before?" Ken suddenly realized. "Serena doesn't keep secrets from us. At least she didn't before `that boy' came on the scene."

"I `do' remember seeing that little girl around before, don't you? It's probably just these things with Travis and Darien were so important that she never really had a chance to tell us."

"I suppose. And I guess I do remember seeing her... but I still don't think this is the best way!" Mr. Tsukino reluctantly agreed.

"It will only be a little while, dear, just until we can get in touch with her parents. So she can stay?" she asked again, just to be sure.

"She can stay! She can stay! Are you happy now?" Ken Tsukino shook his head as they went back into the living room.

Meanwhile in the living room another conversation had been going on.

"Oh, Reenie, I've missed you so much!" Serena cried as soon as her parents were out of the room. "I didn't think I'd get to see you for another thousand years!"

Darien was there as well, "Hello sweetheart, are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere are you?" he asked as he gave the little girl a hug and looked her over. He exchanged glances with and petted the little gray kitten on her lap.

"Hi Rabbit, nice entrance," Travis said, trying to lighten the atmosphere. It worked.

Reenie smiled at her uncle before frowning fiercely. "Don't call me `Rabbit'!" she demanded.

Serena and Darien laughed, and then smiled their thanks at Travis.

"I wish you had Luna Ball with you, there's no way to know if they're going to let you stay," Serena said worriedly.

"They're not going to take me away, are they?" Reenie asked fearfully.

"Of course not! I would never let them do that!" Serena's voice was determined. "If they didn't believe what I said, then you'll probably be living with your father. You can take her, right?" she asked.

"I want to know how you did that," Travis asked before Darien could answer. "I thought you hated to lie! But you were lying like a pro there."

"None of it was really a lie. Think about it. Besides I've had a lot of practice," Serena said sadly.

"Practice? Why would you have practice lying? It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd do," Darien put in.

"I didn't lie! I just didn't tell the whole truth! And anyways, what choice did I have? And you'd better learn too, Travis," Serena said.

"Learn to lie? Oh, you mean about Reenie, I guess I can do that," Travis replied.

"Not to lie! Just... learn how to tell parts of the truth, that's all. No, I don't mean about Reenie. What are you going to tell Uncle Jake the first time he catches you coming in at two o'clock in the morning?"

Travis looked at her, "Why would I be coming in at two o'clock in the morning? I'm usually in bed long before then."

"You're a Sailor Scout now, Travis, and that means leaving in the middle of the night when there's an attack. It means falling asleep in class because you've been fighting all night. It means trying to find a good reason for coming home with cuts and bruises, for leaving in the middle of dinner because there's an emergency, for disappearing when a youma comes on the scene so you can show up in your other form. Our choices are two. Number one is to tell our families everything. In which case we take the chance they might get hurt, or they might accidentally blurt something out, or in your case, print something. Or we can tell them part of it and hope they believe it. I made my decision when I started, it's time for you to make yours." Serena's voice was deadly serious and a new respect showed in the eyes of her brother and boyfriend.

"I never realized you had to go through all that," Darien said quietly. "I never had that problem because I live alone."

"And up until now, so did I," Travis agreed. "Is that why you brought it up now? Because Uncle Jake is staying home."

"That, the fact that Amy and Raye say the Negaverse is back, and the fact that Reenie came back. I'd say we've got problems." She turned to the little girl in her lap, who had been listening silently and with wide eyes to her mother's speech. She'd never realized what Serena had to do to get away with being Sailor Moon, and she didn't even have a Luna Ball to help her!

"Now, little one, are you ready to tell us what's the matter?" Serena's voice softened amazingly as she talked to Reenie.

"I don't know if I should," Reenie said in a very quiet voice. "Puu said never to tell anyone of the future, never."

"But you said she wasn't at the Gate?" Darien asked gently.

Reenie seemed about to cry again, but she was all out of tears. "She wasn't, but she said it before, she said if it ever happened that I had to go into the past again, not to tell what happened."

Travis seemed about to ask another question, but Serena held up her hand. "You've got to give us some information, Reenie, if not what the future is, what the danger is."

Reenie looked stubborn.

Serena sighed. "Small Lady!" she commanded.

Reenie jerked upward, she knew that voice. "Yes Mother?" she asked immediately.

"What has happened? Why are you no longer in Crystal Tokyo?" Serena's eyes were kind but determined.

"There is no Crystal Tokyo!" Reenie almost screamed, her eyes wild as she remembered the desolation that should have been her home. "Crystal Tokyo never existed! The future's different. All different." Reenie found she did have tears left in her as she collapsed weeping and Serena, Darien, and Travis swept her into a group hug.

They were about to talk about it when Serena's parents came back in the room. Mr. Tsukino glowered as he saw Darien with his arms wrapped around Serena and the little girl.

"We've decided," Mrs. Tsukino announced. "She may stay, but only for a little while, and Serena, you need to get in touch with her parents as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Mom! Thank you, thank you, thank you! She won't be a bother, I promise!" Serena ran to give her parents a hug, while murmuring her thanks.

"Serena, you're acting like we're giving you permission to keep a cat that followed you home," Mrs. Tsukino said, causing them all to laugh.

"Now I think it's time for you boys to get home," Mr. Tsukino said calmly, but his eyes stayed on Darien.

"I think he's right," Travis agreed, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye love," Darien whispered to Serena, before bending down and giving Reenie a hug and kiss. "I'll see you two in the morning."

"Bye, Darien," Serena whispered back.

"Bye, Daddy," Reenie answered.

Serena's father's glower followed him out the door.

Serena watched him for a second. "Um, Reenie? I think you might want to call us Serena and Darien, before Dad has a heart attack."

"Okay, Mommy," Reenie agreed. At her mock glare, "Sorry! Okay Serena, I'll try to remember."

"Reenie?" Serena's mother asked quietly.

"Yes, Mrs. Tsukino?" Reenie responded.

"Let's make it Auntie Ellen again, okay?" She waited for Reenie's nod before she continued, "You're going to be staying in Serena's room while you're here, she can show you where it is. Where are your clothes? Surely you didn't come to Tokyo without any?" Serena's mother smiled gently.

"I... lost them. I don't know where they are. I was running because I wanted to be with Serena and I was scared and I guess they're somewhere out there," she finished in a quiet tone of voice.

"I'll look for them tomorrow, okay Mother?" Serena asked, "and if we can't find them, I'll buy her some." At her mother's look, she continued, "I'm sure I'll get reimbursed," she shrugged. "And now, I think it would be best if I got her into bed, okay? I'll find her something to wear in the morning, take her with me when I go meet the others and then take her shopping."

"I'll go with you," her mother said instantly. As it looked like Serena was about to refuse, she continued, "No, no, I insist, but I think it's best we go first, I'm sure your friends can wait. We'll go to the mall, okay?"

Serena suddenly grinned. "You said the magic word, Mom, we'll go shopping first."

"There won't be any trouble between Luna and that kitten will there?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.

Serena looked down, surprised. With all that had happened, she hadn't even realized that there `was' a kitten. When she saw the crescent moon on the gray kitten's forehead she grinned. "Don't worry, Mom, I don't think Luna will have any problem getting along with `this' kitten."

Ken Tsukino watched his daughter and the little girl climb the stairs. "I still have one question" he said thoughtfully. He looked at his wife, "Why is she in pajamas?"

Serena and Reenie reached her room, went in and closed the door. Luna looked up, she had been sleeping on Serena's bed the whole time. "So how did it go?" she asked. Then she noticed the other girl with Serena and bolted upright. "Reenie?"

Before Reenie could answer, another did. The kitten, who had sat silent in Reenie's arms the whole time, barely even moving and hardly noticed, saw the cat sitting on the bed and her eyes went wide. She wiggled out of Reenie's loose grasp and up on the bed. A foot from the dumbfounded black cat she stopped. And just stared.

"What's the matter, Diana?" Serena asked lightly, going over to pet the two cats. "You act like you haven't seen your mother in years. Of course, it's not `your' mother, but still..."

"She hasn't," Reenie said softly, "in the future she comes from, she hasn't seen her mother for years, and almost the last thing Luna said to her was not to talk where people could hear her."

Serena and Luna turned to look at her in shock. "The future she came from?" Luna asked.

Reenie nodded, "It's different than the one I came from, very different. Awful." She fell silent.

Diana finally spoke. "Mama?" she said in a very, very soft tone.

"Yes, kitten?" Luna answered compassionately.

"MAMA!" Diana suddenly yelled, and threw herself across the small bit of bed separating them. Before the others could blink, she was all over Luna, rubbing against her, under her belly, and her neck, seemingly trying to memorize her by feel while purring as if her motor would break.

Luna just stood there for a long moment, before she started to gently lick the top of Diana's head. She started to purr as well.

"Oh Mama, I've missed you! I did what you said, I took care of Serena... sorry, Reenie, and I didn't talk. But I was so lonely! Where did you go? Why did you and Papa have to leave? Was it something I did?"

"Diana," Luna said softly, "I'm not that Luna, this is long before you were born, so I don't know. But I must have had a good reason, and whatever it was, it couldn't be anything you did. I've only ever met you once, and Reenie says that wasn't you, but you could not be that different, and I cannot believe I would be either, and I know that the last time I saw you with your parents, they loved you as much as Reenie's parents loved her."

"How long have you been by yourself?" Luna asked next.

"Ever since I was a little baby," Diana answered.

"I thought so. It looks like no one has ever taught you to wash properly, the hair on the back of your head is all matted," Luna fell to washing the little kitten. Diana remembered back to when she was a baby. It seemed one of her parents was always washing her, she used to hate it. Now it felt like the most wonderful thing in the world to be cherished like that.

Serena had left the room during this, and came back in, dressed in her pink pajamas. She slid into bed, picking up the two cats, and settling them together on her chest as Reenie slid in next to her. "Whatever has happened, we'll find a way through it. I promise you, all of you. We'll find a way. After all, we're Sailor Scouts aren't we? And the Sailor Scouts have never been beaten." Reenie smiled in agreement and immediately fell asleep. She had had a long day.

"But there are no Sailor Scouts in my time," Diana said softly.

"Well, maybe by the year 2990 what? What exactly was the date you come from?" Serena asked around a yawn. She had had a long day too.

"2013," Diana answered. "I come from 2013 and Reenie was born in 2005."

"Oh, that's good," Serena said as she slid into sleep with Reenie wrapped in her arms, and the cats curled up on her chest. Reenie was still clutching the doll as she slept in her mother's arms.

The next morning.

"What?" Serena said, jerking awake, bounding up in bed and throwing the two cats curled around each other on her chest onto the floor. "What did you say?"

"What? What?" Luna said jumping to her feet and looking around wildly. "Is it an attack?" She then noticed where she was and realized Serena's movements had thrown her off the bed again.

She looked up to see a sleepy looking Diana had bounded up onto Reenie's chest, instinctively trying to protect her as best she could.

Reenie also jerked awake and looked around wildly until Serena's presence reassured her that she hadn't woken up in a different place again.

"What's the matter, Serena?" Luna asked grumpily. She hated being woken up like that.

"Diana, what did you say?" Serena asked again. "I thought I heard you say that Reenie was born in the year 2005. No that's silly, it must have been a dream." Serena calmed down.

"But that `is' when Reenie was born," Diana said timidly, yawning. She didn't understand why it was so strange. After all, these people knew more about time travel than she did, she shouldn't be having trouble with the concept.

Reenie woke up fully at that and quickly put her hand over Diana's mouth before she could say more. "We're not allowed to talk about the future, either of yours or mine," she whispered to the kitten. Then what had just been said hit her. "2005?" she whispered in shock, too quietly to be heard.

Reenie looked at her mother. "The future's changed," was all she said. To herself she finished, *_But I didn't know it changed 'that' much!_*

Serena looked about to argue when she noticed the time. "We're going to be late!" she shouted, and grabbed her clothes as she ran out of the room. Luna put her head down and sighed, but Reenie laughed.

"It's good to see some things don't change," she said, still laughing, before getting up and trying to find something in Serena's closets that would fit her. She stopped once, and spent a long time looking at one outfit. It looked like it was made to fit a five year old, and was folded carefully, and put where it wouldn't be messed up. Reenie slowly smiled gently, "I love you too, Serena," she whispered, touching the fabric. Finally, she found a pair of shorts that were too small for Serena, and too big for her, but still the best she could do. A small T-shirt, and belt managed an outfit that didn't look too many sizes too big for her and wouldn't fall down around her ankles when she moved.

Serena called Travis on the communicator. "I'm sorry, Travis, I can't make the meeting this morning. Mom wants to take us shopping to get some clothes for Reenie. I figured it was best to give in to her on this one."

"I'll just bet you did," Travis said, "I can hear you grinning all the way over here. All right, I'll reschedule the meeting. Eleven o'clock okay?" he asked.

"Um... I'll try," Serena agreed.

"It was a stupid suggestion," he said, "I know you and malls, is two o'clock okay?" he asked.

"We can make that," she said easily.

"Good thing I hadn't called anyone yet," he said smiling, "I figured you'd had a big night, and wouldn't be out of bed until I came over there with some ice water." His voice changed, "How's Reenie?" he asked seriously.

"Better, I think. She still won't talk about what happened, but Diana didn't know they weren't supposed to and she said something I'm still trying to understand. She said that Reenie was born in the year 2005."

"That's not possible! Reenie won't be born for another thousand years!" Travis kept his voice down with an effort.

"All Reenie will say is that the future is changed, then she goes silent," Serena answered. "I've got to go, Mom's waiting. We'll be at the temple at two, I promise."

After breakfast, Mrs. Tsukino, Serena, and Reenie headed towards the mall.

"So which store first?" Serena asked as they stepped inside.

Her mother looked around, "There's a new kids' clothing store over by the food court, isn't there?" she asked.

"Mm-hm," Serena answered. "Look over there, Mom, do you see the girl with the really pale blonde hair? It looks like it's almost white."

"Yes, I see her. What about her?" Mrs. Tsukino said, looking ahead for the store that was their first stop.

"That's Crystal, she's new in school, and I think Travis has a crush on her," Serena giggled.

Reenie and Mrs. Tsukino turned to take a closer look at the girl. "She's pretty," Reenie said, also giggling.

"Yes, she is," Mrs. Tsukino agreed, "It looks like Travis has good taste."

"His taste can't be too good, or people wouldn't have thought he was dating Serena at first," Reenie grinned, falling back into their normal pattern of bantering if there wasn't something serious going on.

"I think that just proves how good his taste is," Serena disagreed. "I mean, if he was dating me, his taste must be good."

"I think he showed more taste by `not' dating you," Reenie said.

Mrs. Tsukino laughed as she listened to their teasing. Although they'd said they thought of each other like mother and daughter, it was sounding like they considered themselves sisters. She knew her husband would be happy to hear that.

As they walked through the mall, Serena and Reenie would stop every once in a while to look at things. It took Mrs. Tsukino fifteen minutes to get them out of the toy store and she sighed as she realized it wasn't the youngest one giving her the problems. "Serena, let's go! We're here to get clothes for Reenie, remember?"

"But it's so cute! Look at it!" Serena held up the stuffed cat to show her mother.

"You got one of those for your birthday, remember?" Mrs. Tsukino said in a long suffering tone.

They had almost reached their destination, after numerous stops, when they were distracted by the sound of breaking glass. Serena and Reenie threw themselves down as the skylight in the middle of the mall was shattered by something falling through it. Serena covered Reenie's body with her own as the glass shards fell around them.

Mrs. Tsukino was still staring in disbelief as the debris cleared and a monster was revealed. It was covered in razor sharp spines all over its body. Her scream joined many others as it raised its razor edged hands and pointed outward. "Give me your energy for the Negaverse!" it yelled, as it pulled the energy from every person it saw.

"Mother!" Serena cried as she watched her mother fall to the ground, drained.

Serena got up and ran over to her mother, Reenie on her heels. As she saw the youma turned away from her, she pulled her mother into a nearby store, where they would be out of sight.

"Mom," she said desperately, checking to see if there was any damage.

Mrs. Tsukino stirred slightly and struggled to get her eyes open as she heard her daughter calling for her.

Serena raised her communicator to her lips. "Everybody! There's a youma at the mall, draining energy! Get here as fast as you can!"

"On my way," was all Amy said.

"Alright! I've been itching for a good fight!" Lita exulted.

"Already on my way there, I was going mall trolling today anyway," Mina laughed.

"What about your mother and Reenie?" Travis asked anxiously.

"Reenie?" everybody yelled.

"Reenie's fine, but Mom's been drained. I'd hurry if I were you, or there's not likely to be anything left," Serena said defiantly.

"Be careful, Serena, remember those bad vibes I was getting," Raye said.

"I don't suppose you'll wait for us to get there?" Darien asked.

"You don't suppose right," Serena agreed.

She turned back to her mother and Reenie. "Stay here with her please, Reenie."

"No way! This might be the place where the future is changed, I've got to make it right!" Reenie glared at Serena for even thinking of leaving her behind.

Mrs. Tsukino struggled even harder to open her eyes. She had heard the voices of her daughter's friends and tried to understand what they were talking about. She just managed to get her eyes open in time to see Serena nod slowly.

Serena reached up to the broach she always wore. She opened it to reveal a large glowing crystal. Reenie reached up to touch it as well.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER DUO!" As Mrs. Tsukino looked on in complete disbelief, she saw a light flash and a hint of feathers and ribbons. A second later, where her daughter had stood, was Sailor Moon. Where the little girl they had taken in had stood was a smaller version of the well known superheroine, dressed in blue and pink instead of blue and red.

"Ready Crescent Moon?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Ready Sailor Moon! Let's do it!" Sailor Crescent Moon answered.

Sailor Moon looked down at the woman lying before her. "I promise you Mother, he will pay. He will pay!"

Mrs. Tsukino had lost the strength to keep her eyes open, but the sight of the two girls transforming was seemingly engraved on her eyelids. She watched it over and over, heard their words over and over.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Crescent Moon headed towards the youma. "Hey, Ugly!" Sailor Moon called out. "Yeah, you with the steak knives! I am Sailor Moon!"

"And I am Sailor Crescent Moon! For draining the energy of these people..."

"And for messing up our shopping trip!"

"We will punish you!" they cried together.

"Hello, Sailor brat, the General told me how to take care of you. And after that, I think I'll have some fun with the kid."

Sailor Moon's eyes got hard. "Have some fun with this!" she hissed. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

Crescent Moon followed immediately. "CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

The two tiaras flew towards the youma. "Oh! Target practice!" he grinned pointedly as he threw razor sharp knives at the tiaras, breaking both of them in half. "Too bad, no more targets, except you of course."

"MOON TIARA MAGIC! CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!" flew towards the youma once more. Once more, he threw knives to intercept them before they could hit.

Crescent Moon suddenly started running straight towards the youma. "CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!" she cried as her moonbeam came into being around her and blasted towards the youma. It threw several knives and then jumped out of the way. Crescent Moon turned as she heard a wail from behind her. Sailor Moon was down on her knees, with one of the knives sticking in her shoulder.

"Sailor Moon!" she cried, running back towards her. The youma threw another knife as she turned her back to him.

"Crescent Moon! Look out!" Sailor Moon screamed, forcing herself to her feet in a run towards the young Scout.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" was called out from behind them, the chain of hearts going past them to impact the knife less then a foot away from Crescent Moon.

"Sailor Venus!" both Moons shouted. "Thank you!"

"Not a prob," she grinned.

"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" "MERCURY ICE STORM SPLASH!" "SOLAR FLARE!"

The three Scouts watched as the joint attack headed for the youma and sighed in disappointment as it jumped out of the way, letting the fountain behind it get blown to bits.

"Are you okay, Sailor Moon?" Sailors Sol and Mercury said in one voice. Mercury immediately dropped her visor and started scanning the knife still embedded in her shoulder. The other Scouts gathered around.

"Is she going to be alright?" Crescent Moon asked, deeply concerned.

"Watch your backs!" someone yelled. They looked up as a young man in a tuxedo, cape, and mask sent out over a dozen roses destroying the knives that were once more targeting distracted Scouts.

"Tuxedo Mask!" they yelled.

"This guy likes knives? Then let's see what he thinks of this. Cover me!" Sailor Sol called out as he ran straight toward the youma.

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" "CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!"

The attacks surrounded the young man as he ran. A dozen roses followed as well. The youma tried sending a more of his knives at the male Scout, but they were always destroyed well before they reached him. As Sailor Sol got closer to the youma, he pulled out his sword, the large topaz glowing in the hilt. "SUN SWORD SLASH!" he called. The first two strikes of his sword were blocked by a sword the youma held. The third burned through the sword, and the arm holding it. "Now Sailor Moon!" Sailor Sol called as he threw himself out of the way.

Sailor Moon stood up from the middle of the group of Scouts, although Mercury had pulled the knife from her shoulder, it was still bleeding heavily. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" Sailor Moon called. Before the youma could get used to being a one armed monster, it was a dusted monster. Slowly the people started stirring as their energy returned to them.

"I've got to check on my mother," Sailor Moon said as soon as Mercury finished bandaging her shoulder.

"Wait a minute!" Raye said. "What's Reenie doing here?"

"I'll explain at the meeting this afternoon. I've got to go check on my mother! I'll see you later." Sailor Moon and Sailor Crescent Moon disappeared from everyone's sight, and the Scouts jumped away from the battle scene.

Serena and Reenie rushed for where they had left her mother. They found her sitting up and holding her head.

"Mom, guess what? There was a youma here and it drained everyone's energy before the Sailor Scouts came and took care of it," Serena said as soon as she saw her mom was okay.

"I know," she said, "Sailor Moon."

And what is going to happen next? Is Serena going to admit she's Sailor Moon? Are they going to finally have that Scout meeting? Find out in Chapter Three.

P.S. I noticed after I wrote it, that I had used this title in one of the chapters in Universal, but it seemed to fit so well.


	4. Chapter 3: Explanations

You're back! Yeah! I don't feel like boring you with details, so let's just say that standard disclaimers apply. Thanks to the three new people that just wrote me! And of course, to all the old ones that still do.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 3 Explanations

"Yeah, that's right," Serena agreed, wondering if having her energy drained had somehow messed with her mother's mind. "Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts were the ones that saved yo... us."

"Serena," her mother said as she slowly got up. "I `saw'."

"You saw the Scouts?" Serena asked, still confused even as she went to help her mother to her feet.

Ellen Tsukino shook her head. She looked dazed and Serena was really starting to get concerned. "Maybe I didn't really see it. Maybe it was just a hallucination. You would have told me if it was true, wouldn't you?"

Serena was `definitely' concerned. "You don't look so well, maybe we should get you to the hospital so they can look you over," she said as she held her mother until she steadied.

Mrs. Tsukino stared fixedly at the brooch on her daughter's chest. She suddenly realized she didn't know when her daughter had gotten it, but she very rarely `didn't' wear it these days. Without thinking she reached out. Before Serena could stop her, she opened the brooch and stared at the glowing jewel inside.

Serena and Reenie gasped as she continued to stare, then Serena reached up and closed it, looking around to see if anyone had seen.

"It wasn't a hallucination," Mrs. Tsukino whispered almost to herself. Her voice got louder. "You're Sailor Moon! My daughter is Sailor Moon and I never even knew! How could you not tell me? How could you keep something this important a secret? How could you? How could you have lied to me like that?" her voice continued getting louder.

"Mom!" Serena hissed frantically. "Will you be quiet? Do you want the whole world to know?"

Mrs. Tsukino looked around and suddenly realized they were in the middle of a busy shopping mall, that was getting even busier as rescue workers and gawkers gathered around. She reined in her questions and took a deep breath. "I want an explanation, young lady."

Serena looked into her eyes and nodded slowly. "Not here," she agreed quietly.

"Serena!" Reenie hissed quietly, "Are you really going to tell her?"

Mrs. Tsukino looked at the little girl. "I want to know how you can transform too," she said, giving final proof, if any was really needed, that she had seen them transform. "Come on, we're going home, and once we get there, you're going to explain everything," she said as she took Serena by the arm, Reenie by the hand, and led them out the door.

"But Sammy's at home! He might hear," Serena argued. "Let's go somewhere else, somewhere more private."

"Serena, at the moment, I don't really care if the whole world hears. I am going to get an explanation one way or another."

"And I promise I'll tell you. But not at home, please?" Serena knew she wouldn't be able to keep Sammy from eavesdropping. She knew he had snuck downstairs last night and stood under the living room window when she was talking to her parents. There was no way he would have missed the opportunity to listen to her get in trouble. She had done it herself a time or two when he was getting a dressing down for one of his pranks.

"Home. Now," was all that her mother said in response. She walked quickly, dragging the two girls behind her.

Serena and Reenie walked as best they could, being dragged along like that. Mrs. Tsukino stayed totally silent as they walked along, but her mind was working furiously. *_This is not possible, this simply isn't possible. My daughter... Sailor Moon. She had better have a good explanation for this. This is ridiculous; it simply isn't possible. This must be a dream. Serena `cannot' be Sailor Moon!_*

"Excuse me," a paramedic came up to them, breaking into her thoughts, "Did you just experience a sudden loss of energy?" he asked politely. "If so, you three really need to come to the hospital to get checked over."

"Maybe that would be a good idea, Mom," Serena agreed. "You do look a little shaky."

Mrs. Tsukino turned to the paramedic. "That's all right. I'm just a little tired, and my daughter and niece were able to escape without getting drained. However, I don't think I need to go to the hospital. You need the room for those that got hurt by the glass, and I would really like to get my family home."

The paramedic nodded. They really did need the room for those people who had been hurt. Policy said that people who had been drained of energy like that were supposed to come in to be checked over, but

experience had shown that no ill effects occurred if the energy was given back. Besides, there was nothing they could do anyway.

"All right ma'am, but if you start feeling any ill effects, you come in immediately, okay?" With that, he walked over to talk to others who had been victims of the attack.

The three left the mall and started walking home, Mrs. Tsukino not letting go of the two girls. Suddenly Serena stumbled. She hissed in pain as her wounded shoulder was jarred. With her transformation back to Serena, the bandage had disappeared. Although the wound had healed far more quickly than a normal person's would have in an equivalent amount of time, it was easily opened and still extremely sensitive. Tears came into her eyes from the pain and she tried to reach for the injured shoulder. Her mother felt her trying to pull away and turned to see her crying. Since she wasn't aware of what had happened during the fight, she drew the wrong conclusion.

"Serena!" she practically shouted. "Don't try it. Your wailing is not going to put off this talk, so you might as well not even try," she said, taking Serena by the shoulders and shaking her hard. "You are going to tell me what is going on!"

Serena screamed and collapsed crying. Her mother looked at her, not understanding why she was carrying on that way, but suddenly becoming a concerned mother instead of an angry one. "Serena, what's the matter?" she asked gently.

Mrs. Tsukino gently peeled her hands off of the shoulder she was clutching. She cried out at the sight of the bloodstained shirt. She raised her hands to her mouth in disbelief, only then noticing the blood coating one of her hands. "What happened? Oh my god, you're bleeding! What did I do? We've got to get you to the hospital!" Reenie, standing next to Serena, noticed as well and was worried.

"I'll be alright," Serena said weakly. "I just need to get it rebandaged." Tears of pain were still pouring from her eyes, but she grinned slightly to try to reassure both her mother and daughter.

Reenie was not reassured, she was scared. She turned to Serena's mother. "If you hadn't grabbed her like that, this wouldn't have happened!" she shouted.

Mrs. Tsukino's guilty eyes took in her daughter's pain ravaged features and realized it was true. She also realized that something had to be done. "We have to get you to the hospital. You need to have that looked at," she insisted.

"No! They'll ask too many questions. I'll be fine, I just need to get it rebandaged, that's all." Serena's voice was firm. "We're near Travis' house, we can fix it there." She tried to force herself to her feet and failed.

Reenie reached for Serena's wrist and opened the communicator. "Travis," she called.

"Yes," he answered, "why are you using the communicator, Reenie?"

"Serena's hurt her shoulder again, she's losing a lot of blood, but says she won't go to the hospital. Your house is close, are you there and can you send your Uncle Jake to come get us?"

"I'm here, but Uncle Jake isn't. Where are you?"

After Reenie gave him their location, he signed off. Reenie tried to help Serena to her feet, but didn't have the strength. She turned to Mrs. Tsukino again, "Well? Are you going to help or just stand there like a lump?"

"Reenie!" Serena's voice was sharp. "Don't talk to her like that!"

"I'm sorry, Auntie Ellen," Reenie said contritely. "I didn't mean that."

Mrs. Tsukino nodded as she helped Serena to her feet. The wound had stopped bleeding, but she was still shaky. "Apology accepted, Reenie, it was my fault, I should have realized something was wrong."

"Don't you start," Serena said tiredly. "It wasn't your fault, you didn't know that my shoulder was hurt. I almost forgot it myself, until that bump jarred it."

"I should have realized something was wrong. I'm your mother, that's my job."

Serena laughed slightly, glad that her mother seemed to be getting her sense of humor back after the number of shocks she had been given. Of course, the shocks weren't over yet. As the three walked towards Travis' house, Mrs. Tsukino and Reenie supporting Serena, they heard hoofbeats.

Travis came galloping up on the horse, named Sunrise, he had received for his birthday. He pulled Sunrise to a stop and swung down. He was extremely surprised to see Serena's mother with them. Even though he knew she had been with them at the mall, he thought she'd gone to the hospital or wasn't coming back with them for some reason. Otherwise, how could Reenie have used the communicator to call him?

He ignored his questions as he saw Serena's bloody shoulder. "I'm taking her to my house, join us there," he said as he swung back up and helped her to a seat in front of him.

He set Sunrise into a gentle canter, trying not to bounce her too much. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, you mean besides the fact that Mom saw me and Reenie transform and I promised to tell her all about it?" Serena admitted.

Travis drew in his breath. "Oh, this is good," he muttered sarcastically. "But what happened to your shoulder? I thought Amy bandaged it."

"No, `Sailor Mercury' bandaged it. It didn't stay after I transformed back. Most wounds would have been almost healed by now. This was just a little worse than usual, and it didn't have time to heal. Staying as Sailor Moon would have increased the healing, but was kind of out of the question." Serena leaned back against her brother's chest and rode silently the rest of the way.

They got to Travis' house and dismounted, Travis helping Serena down. He took the saddle and bridle off of Sunrise, promising to come rub her down in just a little while.

"You said you heal faster as Sailor Moon?" Travis asked as they went inside, Serena having regained the strength the sudden pain had taken from her.

"Yes, didn't you notice? That twisted ankle you got should have taken a lot longer to heal, as should my broken ribs. We heal faster than normal, and being in our Sailor forms makes it faster still," Serena told him as he went for the first aid supplies.

"So transform," Travis said as he came back in.

"But Mom's coming," Serena said in shock.

"Well, you said she already knew. I don't think she would want you delaying your healing because of her."

"But... but..." Serena said, still trying to come to terms with that thought.

"It might even help you explain," Travis continued. "How much are you going to tell her?"

"I guess all of it," Serena said.

"Good, then meeting her transformed won't make any difference except to your healing. Transform now!" Travis commanded.

"Hey, who are you to be commanding me?" Serena asked in a huff even as she held her locket up into the air. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

When Mrs. Tsukino and Reenie walked in, they were surprised to see Sailor Moon sitting on the couch.

"Why are you transformed?" Reenie asked.

"I heal faster this way, and I thought Mom might want a closer look," Sailor Moon answered.

"You mean `I' thought," Travis put in.

Sailor Moon stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to her mother. "Hi Mom," she said, getting up, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Mrs. Tsukino had stopped for a moment in complete surprise, and now walked forward. She walked around Sailor Moon staring at her like she was a laboratory specimen. Still surprised, she asked the first thing that came into her head. "Why is your skirt so short?"

Sailor Moon opened her mouth and closed it again as Travis and Reenie burst out laughing. That wasn't exactly the question she had expected to be asked. Serena started to smile as well as she shook her head. "I don't know, Mom, I've never asked. I don't think we get much of a choice in the matter."

"So all the Scouts have to wear those short skirts?" Mrs. Tsukino asked. She shook her head at herself for only being able to think up these inane questions. Sailor Moon seemed to think the question was hilarious though. As Mrs. Tsukino heard Sailor Moon's laughter, that was so familiar from when she was reading comics, her heart started to believe what her mind had seen. This `was' her daughter.

"What's so funny?" Travis asked as Sailor Moon continued to laugh.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just that when she said that I got a picture of `all' the Scouts wearing these short skirts. Sailor Sol and Sailor Earth looked so funny!" Serena said in between laughs.

Reenie started laughing as well. Travis, with a disgusted expression on his face, threw a nearby pillow at them.

"That's something I don't ever want to see," he said with a shudder. "I don't see how you can think it's funny."

"I don't understand," Mrs. Tsukino said in confusion, "Who are Sailor Sol and Sailor Earth and why would they look funny in skirts?"

Sailor Moon had fallen onto her back laughing, though still being careful of her rapidly healing shoulder. Travis just looked back at her with a disgusted expression. Reenie tried to get enough control of herself to talk, since no one else was answering the question. "Travis is Sailor Sol, and Darien is Sailor Earth," she chuckled. "Can't you just imagine Daddy's face if that ever happened?"

Travis reluctantly chuckled, and Mrs. Tsukino suddenly got a vision of the restrained Darien dressed in a copy of her daughter's costume and tried hard to keep her own giggles under control.

Eventually the laughter died down, and Mrs. Tsukino found herself looking at a sobering Sailor Moon. This time, the shock had worn off enough that she was able to ask more relevant questions. "How? Why?" she asked.

"Destiny, I guess," Sailor Moon answered. "It's my fate." She looked away and said too quietly to be heard, "Or so I've been told."

"Well, that's not exactly true," Travis put in. The others looked up in surprise. "It's not really your destiny to be Sailor Moon, there wasn't supposed to ever be a Sailor Moon. There should never have been a need."

"But there was, and there is," Sailor Moon answered. "Besides, weren't you the one that was telling me how much fun the fighting is?"

"That was before I saw your shoulder," Travis said soberly. "You shouldn't be in danger like that, it shouldn't be necessary. We're supposed to protect you."

"What's all this `we' stuff? Sailor Sol was never one of my guards, actually there shouldn't have been one of those either."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! One of your guards? What do you mean?" the confused Ellen Tsukino asked.

"Well, you see," Sailor Moon began. "One thousand years ago..."

"There's a better way," Travis replied, before she could say anything more. "Come on, it'll go better with visual aids."

He led the way out of the living room towards the dining room. He stood there for a long moment staring at the long row of pictures they had both received for their birthday.

"A thousand years ago, these places existed," he said almost sharply.

"We were born there," Sailor Moon said, staring almost misty eyed at the picture of the Moon Kingdom.

"EXCUSE ME?" Mrs. Tsukino asked in shock.

"Just listen, please?" Serena asked gently. She began, "A thousand years ago, the Silver Millennium stretched from Mercury to Pluto, and beyond. All of the Solar System was a part of it. All except Earth and the Sun. The Moon Kingdom," she said, pointing to a picture of it, "was the center, the heart of the Silver Millennium, and Queen Serenity ruled wisely over all the planets. To help keep the peace, she married the King of the Sun and had two children. Twins." This time she pointed to the pictures of Princess Serenity and Prince Tranquility.

Travis took over, "They were raised to take over their respective kingdoms, and rarely were able to see each other, but that didn't stop them from becoming close."

"Princess Serenity was in love with the Prince of Earth, Endymion," Sailor Moon continued, "They had planned on getting married. Unfortunately, before they could, the Moon Kingdom was attacked by Queen Beryl and an army of brainwashed soldiers of Earth. The Sailor Scouts were the bodyguards of the Princess of the Moon, and they fought as hard as they could, as did Prince Endymion and Prince Tranquility, but one by one they fell. When Prince Endymion died, Princess Serenity threw herself after him and died as well. Her mother, Queen Serenity, could not stand to see both of her children die. She used the last of her strength to collect the souls of the people who had died and send them to be reborn on Earth," Sailor Moon's voice trailed off as she stared up at the paintings that brought back such memories.

"None of those who were reborn had any memory of their previous life," Travis continued. "Queen Serenity wanted them to be happy, and hoped there would be no danger once they were reborn. But just in case, she sent guardians who could wake their Sailor powers, in case they were needed. Their job, to find the Moon Princess, and defend the Earth."

"But... but..." Mrs. Tsukino started, "But you said that the Scouts were Serena's guards!"

"They are," Travis answered gently.

"Does that mean...?" she couldn't finish the question.

"Yes, Mom, I am the Princess of the Moon," Sailor Moon said gently.

Mrs. Tsukino shook her head. "I don't believe this, this can't be true. My daughter can't be some princess! She's just Serena, just my clumsy, whiny, loving Serena..." her voice trailed off as she looked down.

In a flash of light, Serena stood there. She walked forward and enveloped her mother in a hug, ignoring the slight twinge in her shoulder. "Mother," she said gently, "there's no difference between

your knowing about Sarah Aton, or Queen Serenity. There's no difference in me knowing it either. This is the same thing. I am still your daughter and I always will be, remember? Remember?" she asked more intensely.

"But it `is' different! How can you be really happy here, with us, if you remember being a princess and living in a castle?"

"But I don't," Serena answered gently. "I don't remember that. Queen Serenity knew we couldn't be really happy with our memories intact, so we don't have them. Oh, I have some memories, my first and last meetings with Endymion especially. I have some memories of growing up with Tranquility and his first meeting with Endymion. The only other memory I have is the last battle, and we were actually shown that, we don't have memories of it."

Mrs. Tsukino still looked unconvinced.

Serena sighed. "You know, when we were shown the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, I had no idea I had a brother. When Queen Serenity cried out as Princess Serenity died, she screamed, `No! She's taken both of them!' I thought she meant that Queen Beryl had killed both Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion. After all, as her daughter's fiancee, he was almost a son. It never even occurred to me that she was mourning the death of her real son who had died several minutes before. Because I had no clue that I even had a brother, in either life."

"Still..." she said in response.

"Mom! Will you stop? I love you. You're my mother! It didn't make any difference when I found out about the Atons, why should it make any difference about Queen Serenity? I couldn't have a better family if Queen Serenity herself had picked you out for me! Well, actually," she mused in an aside, "I could probably have done without the bratty little brother."

Mrs. Tsukino let out a startled laugh at that. She shook her head. "I don't understand any of this, but if this Queen Serenity did pick us out to be your family, I'm very glad she did. I love you too, Serena, it's just going to take a little getting used to."

"If you think that way, how do you think I felt? I just wanted to be a normal teenager. I didn't want to have to save the world from evil. I whined, I cried, and I complained. I didn't want to do it. Let Sailor V or someone else take care of it. I was only a fourteen year old girl!"

"Nice to see some things haven't changed," Travis and Reenie said in one voice. They grinned at each other as Mrs. Tsukino laughed and Serena looked for something to throw.

"If you didn't want to, why did you?" her mother asked next.

"There was no one else. Not at that time. And Molly was in danger. I had to save her. Of course, Tuxedo Mask came to save me. He always does. He's so dreamy," she sighed.

"I thought you liked Darien, and he's Sailor Earth, right? And who's this Endymion?"

"They're all the same. Darien was Endymion, and because he's Prince of Earth, he's Sailor Earth as well. Tuxedo Mask... actually I'm not sure where that one came from, but he always knows when I'm in danger and is there to help." She sighed again, "He's so sweet when he comes to my rescue like that."

"With speeches that are even worse than yours, if that's possible," Travis added.

"Just because you prefer to attack without giving any warning is no reason why we should," Serena said, turning towards him.

"Because it's smarter! When you give a speech you give them time to attack or brace themselves. You should just attack and get it over with," Travis continued, in the tones of an old and well used argument.

"Excuse me, could you continue that later?" Mrs. Tsukino broke in before the argument could really get started. "Okay, that's why you became Sailor Moon, but why did you stay?"

"My friends. They needed me." Serena shrugged as if it was an obvious answer.

Mrs. Tsukino looked as if she'd been stuck by a revelation. "Your friends... they're the Sailor Scouts aren't they?" she stopped. "Quiet little Amy is a Sailor Scout?"

"Sailor Mercury is anything but quiet or little when it comes down to it. She's the one that tries calming us down when we're about to rush into something, and she's always there when we need her in a fight, especially if we need to find the weakness of some particular youma."

"Of course, the blue hair," Mrs. Tsukino said to herself. "That would mean that Raye is Sailor Mars, right? And Lita is Sailor Jupiter, Mina is Sailor Venus, but what about that female Sailor Sun I heard about? Is that Molly?" she asked the others.

"Molly? I `don't' think so. No, Sailor Sun was me," Serena said. "After all I'm Princess of the Sun as well so I could become a Solar Sailor. I just needed Travis to duo with me, because he activates the

power." She looked at her mother's blank expression. "I don't understand it either," she laughed, "but if there are two people of the same blood, they can duo to become two of that kind of Sailor."

"Of the same blood?" Mrs. Tsukino asked. "But she...?" she turned towards Reenie. "She duod with you, is she another sister from the Moon Kingdom or something?" She turned back toward Serena. "Who is she?"

"She's exactly who she said she was," Serena answered, grinning madly. "You know, when she came in... She was telling the truth." Reenie was beaming a huge smile at her.

"You mean...?"

"Hi, Grandma!" Reenie cried, going up to her and trying to give her a hug. She failed, for that shock on top of the others was too much for the woman. She fainted.

"Mom?" Serena cried out, rushing to try to catch her as she fell. She managed it, but only by skidding and landing under her. "Mom?" she cried again, trying to wake her up.

Travis and Reenie rushed forward. "I didn't mean to!" Reenie cried, a tear sliding down her cheek. "What did I do? Why is she unconscious?"

Serena was even less coherent. "It must be an aftereffect of the youma attack. We've got to get her to the hospital. Or maybe Moon Healing will work. No, the hospital. Oh, why didn't I know something was wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong Serena, and Reenie it's not your fault," Travis explained, trying to calm the two girls who were quickly heading for hysterics. "She's just had too many shocks in a short period of time and her brain short-circuited."

Serena did the only thing she could think of to do. Not that thinking had much to do with it. She, too, had had a number of shocks lately, and, added together, they caused her to do something she had not done in several weeks. "! I've short-circuited my mother's brain! What if she can't get it working right again?"

Travis and Reenie covered their ears as her wail hit full decibel range. The sound of it was enough to pull her mother out of her faint. "Serena! What's the matter now?" the mother said even before she was fully conscious.

The wail broke off. "Mom, you're alright! I thought I had short-circuited your brain, and you would be a vegetable or something."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.

"He did!" Serena exclaimed, pointing at Travis. "He said all the shocks had short-circuited your brain, and that's why you fainted."

That reminded her and she turned to look at the little pink haired girl who had called her Grandma.

"I'm sorry," she said contritely, a tear leaking down the side of her face. "I didn't mean to shock you like that."

Mrs. Tsukino reached out and pulled the little girl into a hug. "It's all right, Reenie, I know you didn't mean to." She looked up at her daughter. "How? Was she your daughter in the Moon Kingdom?" Her voice got stern, "Though you did say you weren't married. I know that my fifteen year old daughter does not really have a seven year old daughter. I don't think you could have gotten that past me and your father."

"No, Reenie's from the future, a time traveler," Serena explained. "She came here about three months ago and that's when we found out about her."

"So you lied," Mrs. Tsukino said in a sad and disappointed tone.

"I didn't lie! I just didn't tell the whole truth!" Serena said vehemently. "Everything I said was true. If you look at it the right way. I mean, she did stay with family last time, she stayed with us."

"Us? What do you mean she stayed with us? I don't remember her staying with us!" Ellen Tsukino exclaimed.

"That's because she had Luna Ball, and it hypnotized you," Serena said unconcernedly.

"Hypnotized us? And you let her?"

"Well, not originally, but you wouldn't believe me when I said we didn't have a cousin named Reenie. You just showed me all these pictures of the two of us together. For a while, I thought I was losing my mind. I was pretty sure she was from the Negaverse until the Weird Sisters started coming after her." Serena smiled at the little girl who smiled back. She snuggled deeper into her grandmother's embrace and sighed. She'd never had a grandmother before, and she was suddenly glad Mrs. Tsukino had seen them transform.

"So this time you decided to tell us part of the truth instead of hypnotizing us?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.

"No," Serena answered, being brutally truthful, "I would have much preferred that she was able to hypnotize you again, unfortunately Luna Ball isn't here to do the job."

"You would have preferred us to be hypnotized?" she asked in shock. "Why?"

"Because it's safer. We could have hypnotized you so that you wouldn't remember seeing us transform. The more people that know, the more likely it is that it will get out. Our identities have to be a secret.

If they knew who we were, they could go after our families. I mean, if Sammy knew, do you really think he could keep it a secret? He'd tell the world, you know that."

"Well, that is true, but you could have told your father and me, we can keep secrets, you know." Mrs. Tsukino sounded exasperated instead of wounded that her daughter didn't tell her.

"Not from Sammy you can't! He can listen to conversations in pretty much any room in the house. If he thought you were talking about something interesting, he'd find a way to overhear. I did the same thing at his age." She grinned slightly, "I still do occasionally," she finished in a whisper too low for her mother to hear.

"Well, your father will be happy to know that those times you sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night weren't to meet some boy," Mrs. Tsukino said, smiling.

"No," Serena yelped, "you can't tell him! He'd go ballistic! He'd probably rant about it to the whole neighborhood. Please, don't tell him! Please, please! If somebody found out about it before he calmed down, you could all be in danger, especially Sammy! I can't take that kind of chance, please Mom. Please don't tell him."

"Serena, don't you think you're overreacting a bit? Your father is not that rabid on anything except your boyfriends," her mother remonstrated.

"Oh, yeah, like he's not going to go wild at the fact that I've been out risking my life for the past year and more. Or that I have a daughter with that boy he doesn't much like. You honestly think he won't?"

"Well, perhaps a little. I'm barely stopping myself from going wild myself. I'm also trying to decide whether I should hug you and be proud of you, or strangle you for putting yourself in danger like that and not telling us!" Her voice was almost a shout by the end of that, before she got herself under control again.

Serena seemed to be thinking for a long moment. "I'd prefer the hug," she said in a small voice.

"Oh, Serena," her mother said, as she got up and gathered her into a hug.

"So, are you going to tell Dad?" Serena asked apprehensively.

"I don't know, dear, I just don't know. Look, why don't you introduce me to your friends, really introduce me I mean, and I'll decide later."

Serena thought about it. "I suppose that would be okay." She suddenly grinned, "It's not as if we don't have enough things to shock them with at the meeting today."

"I hope you don't have anymore shocks for me," Mrs. Tsukino said humorously, "I think I've had all I can stand for one day."

Serena, Travis, and Reenie exchanged glances. "No more shocks, okay, I think we can handle that."

"I don't like that look, what aren't you telling me?" Mrs. Tsukino asked suspiciously.

"You don't want anymore shocks, remember?" Serena asked mischievously.

"Hey, Grandma," Reenie broke in. "Are we going to buy me some new clothes today?"

"The meeting's at two," Travis added, "You still have time to do some shopping."

"Come on, Mom, let's go," Serena grabbed her hand and started leading her out of the house.

"But I want to know what other shocks you have," Ellen Tsukino said, trying to stop.

"Please, Grandma? I really need some more clothes," Reenie said, grabbing her other hand.

"But... but..." Mrs. Tsukino tried to complain.

"See you at two, Travis," Serena called back over her shoulder.

"Come on, Grandma, let's go!" Reenie said, still pulling.

"Reenie, I don't think it would be a good idea to call me Grandma in public," Mrs. Tsukino said, reluctantly giving in.

"Oh, I know, you're Auntie Ellen, and she's my whiny cousin that I fight with all the time." She looked up at her grandmother. "I'm not a little kid, I can keep a secret."

"Yeah, like yelling out that I was your mother was keeping a secret," Serena put in, grinning.

"Okay, so maybe I forget once in a while," Reenie said, looking downcast until Serena threatened to tickle her.

Mrs. Tsukino just went along for the ride, still trying to digest what she had learned, her mind whirling furiously. *_Should I tell Ken? I can't keep this a secret from him! I don't keep secrets this important_

_from him! Our marriage is built on trust. But she seems so sure that it would be dangerous. I can't put Sammy and Ken in danger if she's right_.*

Ten minutes after two, the three generations of Tsukino's ran up the stairs to the Cherry Hill Temple. Serena was in the lead. "I can't believe we're going to be late! Raye's going to be so annoyed."

"Especially since she's going to be so curious about why this meeting was called and why I'm here," Reenie grinned as she ran a step or two behind her mother.

Her grandmother came last. She had thought shopping with Serena was exhausting, even for her and she loved shopping as much as her daughter. But Reenie could put them both to shame, wanting everything to be perfect and not satisfied with anything less. She was completely exhausted and both Serena and Reenie had refused to speak anymore about what had happened that morning.

"Where have you been?" Raye practically screamed as she saw Serena run up the steps. "You're the one that called this Scout meeting. The least you could do is be on time! You're the leader of the Sailor Scouts, you're supposed to act like it..." her voice trailed off in horror as she saw Serena's mother come puffing up the steps. "Heh, heh," she laughed uneasily. "I was just fooling about that Sailor Scout stuff, Mrs. Tsukino."

"Mom, may I introduce the Warrior of Fire and Soul, Sailor Mars," Serena announced grandly. Everyone except Reenie, Travis, and Mrs. Tsukino was gaping at her in complete and utter disbelief.

"The Warrior with the Strength of Thunder and Lightning, Sailor Jupiter," she continued pointing at a completely flabbergasted Lita.

"The Warrior of Wisdom from the Planet of Ice, Sailor Mercury," pointing at a blushing Amy.

"Can the speeches, Sis," Travis said in an annoyed tone. "That's Venus and Earth," he finished for her, pointing to Mina and Darien and suddenly having everyone staring at `him' as if he'd lost his mind.

Serena disagreed with his phrasing of the introductions. "That's the Warrior of Love and Beauty, Sailor Venus, and the Protector of Earth and of the Moon Princess, Sailor Earth and Tuxedo Mask." She looked around at the shocked expressions everyone wore and burst into laughter.

"She saw us transform this morning," Reenie explained, "So we told her pretty much everything. I didn't know half of that stuff," she said in an aside to herself.

"Reenie!" Raye exclaimed, glad to find something to take her mind off of the shocks she'd just been handed, "What are you doing here? Is the future in danger again?"

"Big time," Reenie agreed, "In fact, the future's..."

"Papa!" a high voice suddenly called out. From where she had been hidden at her mother's side, Diana flew towards the white cat just coming up the steps.

Mrs. Tsukino stared with her mouth wide open. "Did that cat just...?" she almost asked.

"Diana?" Artemis asked in disbelief, as the kitten curled around him purring mightily. "Hey kiddo, whacha doin' here?"

"Is this the shock you didn't want to give me?" Mrs. Tsukino asked as she sank weakly to the temple steps.

"Um, yeah, Luna, Artemis, Diana, and Apollo are the guardians I told you about. Luna's the one that woke my powers as Sailor Moon. Diana is Artemis' and Luna's daughter from the future, just like Reenie is mine."

Mrs. Tsukino stared at the talking cats, which now included Luna. *_Talking cats? My daughter has a talking cat! Ken would never believe this even if I told him_.* It was only then that she realized she had

made up her mind. If Serena was right, telling Ken would only put her family in danger and she was `not' going to put her family in danger if she could help it. She suddenly realized that when it came to this... situation of her daughter's, she trusted Serena to do what was right. She had raised her daughter well. Her heart swelled with pride as she allowed herself to fully realize all the ramifications. `Her' daughter was Sailor Moon! `Her' daughter protected the world from danger. `Her' daughter was growing up.

She looked up at her daughter. "I won't tell your father, not yet anyway. It's your secret, and I don't have the right. You're old enough to know what's best, I suppose, especially for something like this that

I have no experience at. I do think you should tell him eventually, but I won't force you to or tell him myself. Alright? Not that he'd believe me anyways," she finished to herself as she continued to stare at the cats and the falcon that Travis was talking to off to one side.

"Thanks, Mom, you're the best," Serena hugged her tight for a long moment, a little surprised at her giving in, but very thankful for it, before the other Scouts came up to her.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!"

Meanwhile, in the Negaverse...

"Did you hear, Emperor?" Quartz said, walking up behind the man on the balcony. "Spaghetti's plan failed and he didn't get a single bit of energy," her voice was gloating as she reported.

"I know," Rhyolite said as he turned around. "Now, he's going to be more dangerous, as he gets madder." He suddenly realized what she had said. "Spaghetti? Is that your newest name for him?"

"Not just mine, most of the troops are calling him that now. He doesn't like it," Quartz grinned. "I don't see how the troops learned of a long, thin Earth noodle by that name, but they obviously thought it fit."

"Oh, he's got to be furious," Rhyolite grinned.

"Do you think he'll try another assassination attempt?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Probably, but we'll handle it, we always do," he grinned back at her. "How's the intelligence probe going?"

"Quite well, soon we'll know enough about the people of Earth to take them down, if we really have to," Quartz answered. "I just hope this plan with Spessarite makes it unnecessary."

"Speaking of Spessarite," the Emperor said as a commotion made itself heard at the door.

"I'm going to go hide, you know how I hate talking to him," Quartz said as she headed for the curtained archway to one side of the room.

"Ah, Spessarite, I was wondering when you'd come," the Emperor said as the door crashed open and as an extremely tall, thin, but still human looking man with red-brown hair walked through the door. He was followed by several of his lackeys, including a young captain with blood red hair.

"Emperor Rhyolite, I regretfully report that the first bid for energy was unsuccessful," Spessarite said, with no trace of regret in his voice.

"I would suggest not taking that tone, Spessarite. I could have you killed for failing," Rhyolite responded in a hard tone, no trace of the softness that had been present when talking to his daughter still there.

"But you won't," Spessarite replied, "You want the Sailor Scouts to do your job for you. What?" he asked at Rhyolite's blank face, "You think I didn't know about your wish that they kill me? If you didn't want me to know, you shouldn't have talked about it where my spies could overhear you talking with your... daughter."

Suddenly sounds came from the curtain where Quartz had gone. Rhyolite whipped around to stare as Quartz came barreling out, quickly followed by a pair of youmas. Quartz held a knife in one hand and threw her open hand at one of the youmas. Shards of crystal exploded towards the youma, embedding in its head and chest. It squealed in pain and backed off as Quartz felt herself caught from behind, by several of the arms of the other youma. She tried bringing her knife up to slice at it, but another arm caught that as well, and tore it from her grasp, moving it up towards her throat.

During this time, Emperor Rhyolite had exploded into action. Several youmas had already died by his sword, and the smart ones were staying out of his way, trying to hit him with energy beams.

"No!" Spessarite barked. "I need them both alive! Throw down your weapons, Rhyolite, and surrender, or your daughter dies!"

Rhyolite turned to look over at his daughter, and as he watched, the youma started to draw his knife across her neck, leaving a thin trail of blood. She didn't dare move, knowing that a move of her head would drive the knife in deeper. Instead, she stood still, and threw a telepathic warning to the head of intelligence on Earth.

Rhyolite slowly lowered his sword, and stood still as another youma moved behind him and held a knife to his throat.

"Loyalty and honor, such useful concepts, don't you think? As well as that really silly one called love," Spessarite gloated. "Neither of you will dare do a thing that I don't say, because the other one will get

hurt or die if you do."

"Do you really think the other Generals will let you take the throne, Spessarite?" Rhyolite asked contemptuously. "They'd fight you horn and claw if you tried."

"But I'm not going to try," Spessarite smiled toothily. "You're still going to be Emperor, you'll just be Emperor knowing that if you do a single thing I don't want you to, this little girl will be hurt, very, very badly." He smiled and walked over to Quartz.

She spit at him as he came close enough, and his smile turned into a scowl of rage as he slapped her hard. Rhyolite roared and leapt for his sword, ignoring the wound on his neck as he jerked free of the youma holding him. Spessarite grabbed the knife and pushed it into Quartz's breastbone. "She'll die, if you try it," he growled. Rhyolite put down the sword and allowed himself to be held again as Spessarite nodded to another youma, who rushed forward and slammed several punches into the Emperor's stomach.

"Whatever one of you does, the other pays for," he said, smiling once more at the girl in front of him who was staring in horror at her father. "Now, you `will' answer my questions or your father will get more of the same. You said that you had a plan to take down the Sailor Scouts. I will hear it." When she refused to speak, he nodded to the youma again. "Continue." The youma moved towards the Emperor, who was still bent over in pain from the last time.

"No! Wait! I'll tell you!" Quartz cried. "I'll tell you how to get rid of the Scouts."

To be continued, to be continued, always and forever to be continued. Doesn't it seem that way sometimes? This chapter is dedicated to those who wrote and told me that when I said Darien was Sailor Earth, they got a picture of him in a fuku. I couldn't resist.


	5. Chapter 4

Hey, welcome back. All standard disclaimers are still standard. All non-standard disclaimers are still non-standard.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 4

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" the girls yelled, almost in chorus as they came over to where Serena and her mother are sitting.

"How did she find out?" Raye asked, almost ignoring Mrs. Tsukino.

"Why is Reenie here?" Lita asked in concern.

"Why did Travis call this meeting? Was it to discuss Reenie?" Mina took her turn.

"How's your shoulder?" Amy asked, trying to examine it.

"Like Reenie said, she saw us transform this morning," Serena started answering their questions in order. "The future seems to be majorly messed up, and you'll have to talk to Reenie about it, maybe you'll get more out of her than I did. Travis has an announcement, and planned to call the meeting even before Reenie showed up, and my shoulder's fine, thanks for asking," she said all that in one breath, before turning to Reenie. "Why don't you tell us what's going on, Reenie?"

"I `can't' tell you too much! I can't! Puu said I wasn't supposed to tell anyone in the past about the future." Reenie looked torn between telling everything and getting their help, and obeying Sailor Pluto to make sure the future didn't get even `more' messed up.

"Then we'll start with what we know already," Travis said, coming over and settling down next to his niece. "We know the future's been changed, so much so that Crystal Tokyo no longer exists, Sailor Pluto isn't guarding the Gate of Time, and you were born in 2005."

There was dead silence for a long moment. "That's not possible," Amy was the first to speak.

"None of it's possible, but it's happened," Serena said impatiently. "There's no way Pluto would ever leave the Gate, but if Reenie says she's not there, then she's not there."

"That's not what I'm referring too," Amy replied shaking her head. "It's impossible for Reenie to have been born in 2005, not and still be Reenie."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, confused. "She's here, she's Reenie, and Diana is sure that's when she was born."

Diana opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"Go ahead, dear," Luna said comfortingly. "It's all right."

Diana's mind went back over the past day. It had started with being woken abruptly. After Serena and Reenie had gotten up, Luna had settled back down to sleep.

"Shouldn't we go with them?" Diana asked hesitantly.

"Have you ever gone shopping with them before?" Luna asked in a long suffering voice. "It's not something you want to do when you're tired, or for that matter when you're well rested. It's exhausting. Besides, I think you need to learn your way around town, and not to the mall. I'll show you around after I get some more sleep." With that Luna settled back down.

Diana thought longingly of settling down beside her mother, but her hunger and curiosity about her new home overrode it and she set out.

She stealthily explored every part of Serena's room. She sat and stared for a long moment at a picture of Serena, Darien and Reenie in a rabbit frame, and one of Serena and Travis with Luna and Apollo in a sun and moon frame. She pounced on several of the stuffed rabbits that took up many corners of Serena's room. She jumped several feet into the air as one rabbit, a pink one with a drum, started moving as she touched it. She hissed and growled at it until it became still.

When she had explored all of that room, she pushed the door open with her nose and sneaked out of the room. She slinked down the hallway until she reached Sammy's room and slowly eased open that door. Sammy was lying on bed, talking to himself.

"It's not fair! A little girl we don't even know is moving into this house. Mom was supposed to take me to the store to get the parts for my science project, but does she even remember? No-oo, of course not. There's a cute little girl who needs new clothes, and that's more important. I'm surprised they're not asking me to move to Bobby's so they can give her my room." He looked up at the sound of a bell and scowled. "Plus she has a cat! Serena has a cat, but will they let me have a pet? No, you need to be a little more responsible Sammy. As if Serena is responsible, but she gets a cat! It's just not fair."

Diana moved out of the doorway quickly. *_That's Sam? The one I thought was Serena's father, Sam?_* She shook her head before moving off down the stairs.

Diana thought she heard a funny sound from the kitchen. She raced in there and slid to a stop against Mr. Tsukino's leg. "Whoa there," he said in a kind voice, scooping her up into his hand. "You're just a

little thing, aren't you? Would you like some milk?"

Diana meowed quietly in agreement and purred against his hand as he set out the milk. After drinking, she climbed the stairs once more and hopped up on the bed next to the still sleeping Luna. Luna started

purring as she felt the warm body settle down and Diana's purr rose in counterpart.

Luna awoke and looked at the kitten lying next to her. She started washing the milk off of her whiskers, before moving on and giving the little kitten a full bath. Diana's purr jumped up several notches as she woke up.

"Good morning, Kitten," Luna said once she knew Diana was awake. She didn't stop washing though.

"Morning, Mama," Diana answered after looking to see that no one was nearby.

"Ready to go visit people?" Luna asked after completing her own bath.

Luna jumped to the windowsill and from there onto a branch of a nearby tree. Diana stood on the windowsill trembling. She had never made a jump so high above the ground before. Luna turned around and saw the way she was standing. With a bound, she was next to the little kitten.

"I'm sorry, Mama, it's just so high," Diana mewed.

"It's okay," Luna said, looking at her intently, "but you'd better hope this is instinctual." With that, Luna gently took her neck in her mouth and picked her up. Holding her gently but firmly, she jumped to the tree, and then down to the ground.

Luna showed her all over town, told her about the Scouts as they passed their houses, and stopped to say hello to Apollo who told them of the fight and Serena's mother learning about the Scouts. Diana cowered away from the eagle at first until she became convinced he was safe.

Diana had lived all of her life in a time and place where what you said was regulated, what you did was regulated. Cats were disliked by the youmas who patrolled the streets, so it was very rare that she was

allowed to leave the house. To be able to walk down the street in broad daylight, stop in at the arcade for a pat from Andrew, or at a nearby restaurant for a helping of tuna was totally new and wondrous to her. She stared at everything she came to, taken aback by the friendliness she was shown, and her mother's penchant for talking in broad daylight with humans in eyesight. Her natural curiosity soon helped her overcome her timidity, and by the time of the Scout meeting, she was talking a little more often.

Still, it took reassurance from her father as well before she would speak. "It's okay, kiddo," Artemis muttered kindly. "They all know you, there's nothing to worry about here."

She took a deep breath before beginning. "She was!" Diana agreed in a very soft voice, from where she was sitting between her parents, seeming to try to almost burrow into them. A lifetime habit of silence was very hard to throw off. "She grew up as Serena, until one day she said she was Reenie, and was asking where her parents were."

"She grew up as Serena?" Lita asked. "What do you mean?"

"I've been with her since she was two, and she was always called Serena until that day when she said she wasn't," Diana replied.

"Don't tell them too much Diana," Reenie warned.

"How much is too much?" Diana asked inquisitively.

"Too much is the fact that the Reenie of your time was raised by Sammy who was killed by a youma..." she covered her mouth with her hands at Mrs. Tsukino's cry. "Oops," she said shamefaced.

"You're making about as much sense as the Meatball Head here usually does!" Raye started. She looked at the distraught Mrs. Tsukino. "Not to mention having about as much sensitivity."

"Well, I didn't mean to say it!" Reenie answered back. "Don't worry, Grandma, I'm going to make it better. I'm going to make it go back to the way it should be. I promise."

"Raised by Sammy? Why would you be raised by Sammy? Why weren't you with me and Darien?" Serena asked.

Reenie looked up mutely.

"Were we... dead?" Serena asked in a choked voice.

"I don't know! I just don't know!" Reenie cried. "Nobody would tell me! Nobody would talk to me about it! Not even Amy." She burst into tears once more and Darien gathered her up into his arms. Serena burrowed in next to her.

"`Not even Amy'?" Amy asked in confusion. "So I was still alive. So I was still fighting, right?"

Reenie shook her head. "No, you didn't fight. None of the Scouts did. Lita was alive too, but I don't know about the others."

"I didn't fight?" Lita asked in disbelief. "I'd never give up the fight! Never! Why didn't I fight? Where were the Scouts?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Reenie screamed. "I don't know anything! And I've already told you too much." She buried her head in Darien's shoulder and refused to move. Darien rubbed her back soothingly.

Serena looked up at Darien. "I'm scared," she whispered. "I don't want to know what could take out the Scouts and make them give up."

"It will be okay, Serena," he whispered back. "You'll see, it will be okay."

She nodded and burrowed closer, clasping one of Reenie's hands in hers.

"You know, I don't understand any of this," Mina admitted.

"Join the club," Lita answered.

"Okay, so the future has changed big time, and you're here to try to change it back, right?" Darien asked, trying to clear things up. At her nod he continued, "Well, then, when is the point that's going to be changed?" Everyone else listened eagerly.

"I `don't' `know'," Reenie bit out.

"What do you mean, `you don't know'?" Lita asked gently, not wanting to set her off again.

"I don't know when it changed. I've just got to stay here until it does," Reenie said.

"So you have to change an event in the past when you don't know what it is, when it is, or what changing it will do, right?" Raye asked.

"Right," Reenie agreed, looking up. "You'll help me, guys, right?"

The Scouts dropped their heads into their hands. "This is going to be impossible," Raye muttered.

"Nothing's impossible, only hard," Mina disagreed.

Artemis opened his mouth and then closed it. "She got it almost right," he muttered.

Amy had been tapping furiously at her computer trying to find an answer to another question that had been bothering her. At least it was a question she could find an answer for. "What's the matter, Amy?" Lita asked.

"It's not possible," she answered. "It is statistically impossible for Reenie to have been born in any year but the one she was originally conceived in."

"Why?" Serena asked, confused.

Amy thought about how to explain it so the others would understand. "You have over three million genes in one cell. The genes are what give you your characteristics, such as the color of your hair, whether it's curly or straight, the color and shape of your eyes, even how many freckles you have. It also determines part of your personality and what you're good at. A child gets half of her genes from each parent. Are you following me so far?"

Darien nodded immediately, he had understood what she meant even before she started explaining. The others nodded as well, but Serena couldn't resist adding a question, "So what genes control pink hair?" she asked, running her fingers through Reenie's hair.

"I don't know, but that's just it. The genes have to be `exactly' the same. Each and every gene must be exactly the same as it was in her original time. That's three million chances for it to be different, but as far as my computer can tell, she is exactly the same as she was when she came here last. And that simply is not possible!"

"I can tell you why," Mina put in. The others looked at her in surprise, now that Serena had started shaping up, she was the one with the worst grades. She looked at them and shrugged, "It's magic."

"Sounds good to me," Serena agreed, almost grinning.

"Best reason I can think of," Lita replied, also grinning.

"But... but..." Amy started.

"Hey girlfriend, not everything needs explanations," Mina said, going up and putting her arm around her.

"And there are more important questions than how is she alive," Travis put in. "Like, can she change the future back to the way we believe it should be? What caused the change? And how do we keep my uncle from finding out who we are and writing a story about it?"

"WHAT?" everyone but Serena, Darien and Mrs. Tsukino asked in confusion.

"My uncle has decided to stay home and write a story on the Sailor Scouts," Travis answered.

"If he knew it was you, he wouldn't write anything," Mrs. Tsukino answered confidently.

"I wish I could be so sure," Travis answered in a low voice. "Besides, we can't tell him for the same reason we would never have told you, it's too dangerous."

"It just means we'll be meeting over here all the time again," Raye shrugged, "Grandpa and Chad will never guess. They don't pay attention to anything but training and trying to get cute girls to join the temple."

"So Chad has joined your Grandpa in doing that too?" Serena asked, interested and trying to get her mind off of what they had heard. "I told you that if you didn't start paying some attention to him he would find someone else, didn't I? Didn't I?"

"He has not!" Raye started angrily, also happy to have something else to think about. She continued, "Besides, what do I care what that talentless layabout does? It's not like he means anything to me."

"Yeah, right," Serena grinned.

"Mother!" Reenie yelled.

Serena turned around with an embarrassed look on her face, "Sorry, Reenie."

Mrs. Tsukino carefully hid her smile as she watched the two girls interact. It was exactly the same tone of voice that she used when Serena was acting that way, usually with the same response. So far she had barely spoken at all, but was storing up questions to ask later.

"The problem is, I see no way to pinpoint the physical or temporal location where the change occurs," Amy began. "The change would have to occur within the next ten years, but without more information I can't even estimate, much less with any degree of accuracy."

"Raye?" Lita asked.

"I'll ask the Great Fire, see if that will give us any information," Raye answered.

"And the rest of us will just have to try to think of how it can happen that Crystal Tokyo doesn't exist, but Reenie does," Darien spoke up. His arms curled around Serena. "The only way off-hand I can think of for Crystal Tokyo not to exist, is for Serena to die, but then Reenie wouldn't be born either."

Serena leaned back against him. "That still wouldn't explain why Sailor Pluto wasn't at the Gate. She doesn't leave the Gate, it's against the rules or something."

"Who says?" Mina asked.

The others thought about it for a long moment, then Lita opened her mouth.

"I say," Luna put in before she could say anything. "Pluto is not supposed to leave the Gate, even for as long as she came to help us in Crystal Tokyo, without an extremely good reason. As Serena said, it's

against the rules."

"Who made the rules? And why doesn't she break them if she wants to?" Lita asked.

"Yeah, standing there alone all the time must be majorly boring," Mina added.

"No one could blame her if she left to have some fun," Serena agreed. Thinking that was a lot better than thinking about what could kill Pluto or force her from her post.

"She wouldn't do that," Amy said with complete conviction. "Her duty is far too important for her to leave without a good reason."

"Yeah, Puu wouldn't leave! Not with the Gate wide open like that," Reenie agreed.

"So, what do we do?" Lita asked after several moments of silence.

"What `can' we do?" Travis answered.

"We can watch out for trouble, keep our eyes open for some change," Apollo answered. Mrs. Tsukino started, but hid it quickly. She had just started getting used to the cats, the falcon would take a bit

longer.

"There's got to be something else that we can do!" Reenie insisted.

"I'm sorry, Reenie, but without more information there is very little we can do. Like Apollo said, we'll just have to keep our eyes open," Amy said gently.

"I'm going to see if the Great Fire can tell me anything," Raye said, getting up. She turned to Reenie, "Don't worry, Reenie, we won't let the future be changed."

Lita got up as well, then bent back down to give Reenie a hug. "Yeah, sprout, we're the Sailor Scouts, we've never been beaten, and we never will. Right now though, I need to go get a workout. You coming, Mina?"

"Be right there," Mina answered, "I'm glad you're back, no matter why you came," she murmured to Reenie. "We'll go shopping some time, 'kay?"

"Okay," Reenie agreed, "I'd like that."

"After the shopping spree today, she won't need any more clothes for a thousand years," Mrs. Tsukino said humorously. "What?" she asked as everyone looked at her.

"Oh, nothing," they chorused.

"I'll keep scanning for anything out of the ordinary," Amy said, "I'll call you if I find anything." She threw a smile at Reenie as she went down the steps.

"I've got to go too," Travis admitted. "I forgot when I set this meeting up that I had a study date with Crystal this afternoon."

"A date?" Serena and Reenie said simultaneously. They looked at each other, "Travis has a girlfriend, Travis has a girlfriend!"

"We're studying!" Travis yelled back over his shoulder to the two singing girls.

"Travis has a girlfriend!" they answered before collapsing in laughter.

They calmed down as Travis left at a run. Serena looked up at Darien and Reenie. "I can't imagine anything that would make the Scouts give up," she said. "They don't give up, Darien. They never give up."

"I know," Darien agreed. "Try to get your mind off of it, Princess, everything will work out. We'll find the point where it got changed, and change it back."

Serena nodded absently. "If the future can actually be changed, it gives us a lot more to worry about, you know. I thought my future was destined, after all Reenie here was the proof, but if it's not..."

"If it's not, then we will do whatever we have to to make sure that it is the future we live to see. Okay?"

Serena stood up. "Right," she nodded, determined.

Reenie stood up as well. "Yeah," she said. "We'll make it our future."

"Well, Reenie, since we can't do anything about why you're here right now, what do you want to do today?" Darien asked.

"Can we go to the zoo?" Reenie asked. "All of us?"

Darien and Serena looked at Mrs. Tsukino. "Well, Mom, do you want to go to the zoo with us?" Serena asked.

Mrs. Tsukino looked at the three, she wanted a longer look at the young man who would be the father of her granddaughter, and spend more time with the granddaughter who wouldn't even be born for ten more years. "I would love to go to the zoo with you," she agreed. "Besides, I have a few more questions for you. Like what is Crystal Tokyo, who is Sailor Pluto, and what date Reenie was supposed to be born in? And what is this future you're talking about?"

Serena and Darien sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Travis raced toward the park. *_I can't believe I forgot about it! Now I know how Serena used to feel. I wouldn't be surprised if Crystal has already left. I am `so' late_!* Travis vaulted down the three steps into the park, not even touching them, and kept running.

He looked ahead at the table where they were supposed to meet and started to slow down in relief as he saw she was still there. Then his footsteps sped up again as he saw she was packing to leave. "Hey Crystal!" he yelled. "Wait!"

She looked up and seemed to hesitate for a moment, before putting her books down and sitting again.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Crystal," Travis panted, "We had unexpected company."

"I thought maybe you were with Serena," Crystal said quietly, frowning slightly.

"I was," Travis said, perplexed. "Her cousin has come back to visit. I've missed the little Rabbit."

Crystal turned away. "You love her, don't you? Serena?"

"Well of course I do," Travis agreed. "She's my..."

Before he could finish, she was standing up. "I don't feel like studying, Travis, I'll see you later." With that she left the picnic table, almost running, and leaving all of her books behind her.

"Crystal! Wait!" Travis cried from behind her, but she paid no attention. He gathered up her books and took off after her. "Crystal!"

*_It's all her fault,_* she thought wretchedly, running blindly. *_Why does he have to love her?_* At the sound of a lion's roar she looked up to see she was near the park's zoo. Looking toward the gate, she saw a girl with her hair up in two balls and ponytails. She barely even noticed the three people with her. Without thinking, she followed them into the zoo grounds. Travis followed as quickly as he could.

Crystal seethed even more as she noticed Serena with a young man. She tended to hang on him as they watched the animals. Not that he seemed to mind. *_It's not enough that she's got the cutest boy in class in love with her, she has to have a college boy as well. I don't see what they see in her._*

"Crystal?" Travis came up behind her. "You left these behind. Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing's the matter. What could be the matter?" Crystal asked scathingly.

"I don't know, you tell me," Travis answered, following her gaze to the group below him. "That little girl with the pink hair is Reenie, the cousin that's visiting."

"Who's the boy?" Crystal asked almost against her will.

"That's Darien, Serena's boyfriend," Travis answered smiling.

"Serena's boyfriend? But... but... I thought..." Crystal stuttered to a halt.

"Come on, I think it's time you meet them," Travis took her by the hand, and moved her books to a more comfortable position in his other arm. With her protesting vociferously, he led her down towards the group.

"2989?" Mrs. Tsukino was asking in shock. "How is that possible?"

"Aunt Ellen," Travis said before she could say anything else, "have you met Crystal yet? She's been in school here about two weeks."

"No, I haven't," she said, smiling as she looked at the girl, "but I've heard a bit about her. How do you do?"

"`Aunt' Ellen?" Crystal asked in confusion. She turned to Travis, "I didn't know you had an aunt."

"Well, I don't, not really, but since she is my sister's mother, I have to call her something," Travis grinned.

"Your sister's mother? What the heck are you talking about?" Serena and the group with her had very surprised expressions on their faces.

"She `doesn't' know! How is that possible? I thought everybody in Tokyo knew by now!" Serena exclaimed.

"Knew what?" Crystal almost shouted, not understanding what was going on.

"Crystal, may I introduce my twin sister, Serena Usagi Tsukino," Travis said formally.

She looked between them quickly with a shocked expression on her face. She had always seen a resemblance between them, but when she found out that they had different names, she had assumed it was just a coincidence.

"How?" she asked weakly.

Serena came up on one side of her, and Travis on the other. "Well you see," Serena started, leading her away.

"Serena!" her mother called. "I think your brother can handle it. You still have some questions to answer from me."

"Yes Mother," Serena sighed, letting go of Crystal's arm. Travis grinned at her and she stuck out her tongue as she walked away.

"Come on," Travis said, still grinning, "I'll tell you all about the Atons, the Watsons, and the Tsukinos. With extras by Darien Jacobson, Darien Chiba, and Serenity Moone."

"Who?" Crystal asked with a completely disoriented expression on her face.

Ten minutes later Crystal still had that expression on her face. "So your family consists of your biological twin sister and her adopted brother who you consider somewhere between a cousin and a younger brother. Your adopted second cousin who you think of as your uncle sometimes and sometimes as your father and is your guardian. Your sister's adopted parents, who you call Aunt and Uncle. Your blood brother, who's your sister's boyfriend, and, finally, an adopted cousin of your sister, who you think of as a cousin as well. Is that all of them?"

"Well, except for our biological parents and my adopted parents, yes," Travis agreed. "But since they are dead, they don't count. And assorted adopted cousins who don't even know I'm adopted."

"Didn't your biological parents have any relatives?" Crystal asked.

"Well, if they did, the courts weren't able to find them," Travis admitted.

Crystal shook her head. "Maybe we should work on Calculus, I'm sure I'd understand it better."

"When it comes right down to it, your family consists of the people you love," Travis answered. "That's what Serena says, and she's right. Which are biological, which are adopted, and which are blood bonded, doesn't really matter, they are all my family. Heck, my falcon Apollo, and Serena's cat Luna are part of the family." *_More than you know,_* he thought humorously.

"So how come I never heard of this?" Crystal asked.

"I honestly don't know," Travis admitted. "We announced it at our fifteenth birthday party about three months ago, and it's been gossip ever since. I don't know why you didn't hear it."

"The only gossip that's really been going around lately is that Molly and Melvin were seen together in the park after ten o'clock and that Serena got an A on her last Math test."

"Yes, I was very proud of her for that. So was Darien. I think it was the reward from him that made her go for an A, she's usually happy with B's. Of course, she used to get F's so you can't really blame her. But you didn't get the run down on every one in the school from Melvin? He usually knows everything and tells everything, even when you don't want to hear it." Travis suddenly looked closely at her. "He did say something about you being violent... were `you' the one that broke his glasses?"

"He surprised me, popping up out of nowhere like that, and I did offer to get him some new ones," Crystal shrugged.

"Why did you run off like that?" Travis suddenly changed the subject. "Once you found out I had been with Serena..." his voice trailed off and he looked closely at her. "Were you... were you jealous?"

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" Crystal asked, not looking at him and so she missed his crestfallen expression.

"I don't know, it was just a thought," Travis shrugged now. When Crystal looked up at him, he was grinning at her again.

*_I mean just because I was a little mad that you had spent time you had promised to spend with me, with her instead, doesn't mean I'm jealous, does it?_* Crystal thought to herself. She shook her head. "Thanks for bringing my books, weren't we supposed to be studying?"

Travis was surprised at this turnaround, but agreed.

By the time the Tsukinos got home, Serena was wrung out. Her mother had asked questions about everything, from how many times she had been hurt, to how far her relationship with Darien had gone. There were several things that had shocked Ellen Tsukino to the core, like the fact that her daughter would one day be Queen of Crystal Tokyo and her granddaughter wasn't supposed to be born for a thousand years. Serena had been afraid of another fainting spell a number of times but it hadn't happened. She would have toned it down if she could, but her mother had asked for her to be totally truthful, and she had agreed.

Reenie went upstairs to get changed into some of the new clothes they had dropped off there earlier. She came running back down. "Where is it? Where is it?" she cried in a panic.

"Where is what, Reenie?" Serena asked. Her eyes went wide. "The Key?" she asked in a whisper.

Reenie shook her head. "Mi'a Doll! Where is Mi'a Doll? I left it on your bed and it's not there now."

"You mean that broken doll?" Sammy asked, walking in. "I threw it away," he shrugged, "It's face was falling off. Besides, I'm sure Serena or Mom will buy you a new one." He shrugged, an unconcerned

expression changing as he saw the way his mother was glaring at him. Reenie had given a small cry and was already out of the room.

"That was very wrong of you, Sammy. You have no right to throw away another person's things, especially not a guests." Mrs. Tsukino was angry, she'd seen the anguish in the little girl's face.

"But it was just a doll," Sammy tried to explain himself. "And it was broken. It couldn't be that important."

"It was to her, Sammy," Mrs. Tsukino said. "Go to your room!"

"It was just a stupid doll," he muttered, kicking the wall on his way out. Reenie glared at him as he passed while holding the saved doll protectively.

He glared back before noticing the tears that were bright in her eyes. "Sorry, Spore," he muttered. "I didn't know it was special."

Reenie nodded slightly. She couldn't really be mad at him, her memory of him dying in the future was too strong, but the doll had been given to her by a woman who cared for her like a daughter, even if it hadn't been `her' that had been given it. *_He called me Spore! Same old Sammy_.* She walked into the kitchen, still holding the doll. For the first time, Serena and her mother were able to look at it closely. It looked handmade and very well taken care of.

"Sammy has this friend, named Mika, who makes dolls," Serena said to her. "Maybe if we take Mi'a Doll to her, she can fix it."

Reenie looked sad for a moment before smiling shyly. "I'd like that."

The front door opened before anything more could be said and Mr. Tsukino walked in. "Good evening ladies," he said boisterously, obviously in a good mood. "You would not believe what happened today."

Before he could continue, Serena's watch started beeping. She and Reenie looked up in surprise, and Mrs. Tsukino in worry. She hid it quickly. "Have a good time, dear, and try to get Reenie back before her bedtime."

Serena looked at her for a long minute then smiled. "I will. Thanks mom. Come on, Reenie." She pecked her dad on the cheek as they ran by.

Reenie carefully put the doll down, then ran after her.

"Can't you even stay for my news?" he asked. His only answer was the slamming of the front door as the two girls ran out of it. "What was that all about?" he asked his wife.

"Oh, they just had something to do with the girls," she said breezily. *_Be careful Serena._* "So what's your news dear?"

Serena and Reenie ran down the steps. "Having Grandma know is pretty nice," Reenie said. "Now you don't have to pretend about it."

Serena threw a grin at her before raising her communicator to her mouth. "What's going on?" she asked.

"A youma is attacking Mina's school, demanding that Sailor Moon and those pitiful Scouts come fight her," Amy said. "Her words, not mine. I don't like this, she doesn't even seem to be trying to drain energy, she's just destroying things."

"It's probably a trap," Lita replied.

"There's not a trap made that can catch the Sailor Scouts," Serena replied.

"How many times have I told you not to become overconfident?" Luna's irritated voice asked and they looked over to see her and Diana running next to them.

Reenie bent down and picked Diana up, settling the kitten down on top of her head, between the cones of her hair.

"Is she safe there?" Luna asked in concern, from her new perch on Serena's shoulders.

"Sure, she rides here all the time," Reenie answered.

"I do?" Diana squeaked in a small voice as she hung on tightly.

"Any chance we can let the youma do a little more destruction before we take it?" Mina asked.

"No, Mina, we're not going to let her destroy your school just so you can get out of going," Raye answered.

Serena and Reenie met the others a block from the school.

"It's nice having some warning about these things," Darien remarked, patting the communicator he had received at the twins' birthday party.

"You should have seen Grandma when Serena's beeped," Reenie piped up. "She just said, `Have a good time'."

"Any word about Reenie's problem?" Travis asked. Everyone sobered quickly.

"Not a thing," Raye said in disgust. "If the fire knows, it's not telling me."

"What if this is the place where everything changes?" Reenie asked worriedly.

"Then we'll just have to make sure it doesn't," Lita answered confidently.

There was a loud crash from the direction of the school, reminding them of why they were there.

"Transform everyone!" Artemis called out.

"SUN STONE POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

"MERCURY STAR POWER!"

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER DUO!"

Tuxedo Mask took to the rooftops as the Scouts raced towards the rampaging youma.

It was large. That was the first thing they noticed. It was several feet taller than the tallest of them and covered in muscles. At the moment, it was occupied with tearing down one of the school's outbuildings.

"Not the gym!" Sailor Venus cried. "That's the only class worth going to!"

The youma turned to face the Scouts and Sailor Moon got ready for her speech. "SOLAR FLARE!" Sailor Sol called out before she could say anything.

The youma picked up a large block of stone, and threw it in the direction of the attack. The block blew up, but the youma was unharmed.

"A school is a place of learning, not a place of violence. Especially the gym," Sailor Moon began, grinning at Sailor Venus as she added that last part. "I am Sailor Moon, Champion of Love and Justice. In the Name of the Moon, I will Right Wrongs and Triumph over Evil. And that means you!"

As Sailor Moon stood in her pose, the youma picked up another block of stone and threw it at her. She hurriedly threw herself to one side before it could hit.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" Venus called, sending her heart chain towards the youma. It too destroyed a block of stone before reaching the youma.

"Let's do this together," Sailor Jupiter called to Mars. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" The two attacks raced in together, and again were stopped before they could get close.

"What do we do," Jupiter asked in disgust, "attack until it uses up all of its ammunition?"

"No," Mercury replied, "from opposite sides. Come on Moon, Sol, Crescent Moon. Spread out."

The four Scouts spread out in a circle around the youma. "MERCURY ICE STORM SPLASH!" "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" "SOLAR FLARE!" "CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!" From four sides the attacks flew in. The youma threw a block at Sailor Moon's tiara, stopping it. Then it threw another block towards Sailor Sol's fire, also stopping it, but Mercury's ice attack came in while it was busy, freezing its leg. Crescent Moon's tiara hit the same leg, shattering it. It roared as it fell to the ground.

"Now Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mercury called.

"I know!" she answered pulling out her scepter. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" dusted the monster.

"Did that strike anyone else as extremely easy?" Sailor Sol asked.

"Yes," Tuxedo Mask answered as he came up. "You didn't even need me. By the way, I'm not so sure I like waiting until there's danger before I show up. Since I now know when there's a fight, I think I should join in, that waiting is getting to me."

"We agreed it was best to have someone in reserve, and you were the best person to do that," Mars answered. "You'll get in on the action, they can't all be this easy."

"At least this wasn't the place that changed," Crescent Moon answered quietly.

Sailor Moon laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She nodded at her brother. "It was even easier than the one this morning."

"Now that's something I don't like," Mercury said. "I don't think we've ever had to fight two in one day before. And why wasn't it trying to drain energy? It doesn't make sense."

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out," Sailor Moon said. "We've got to get home."

"See you tomorrow," the others answered as they split up.

Serena and Reenie walked home together. "You know, Small Lady, there's very little about the future you haven't told us. I don't think whatever there is left is going to hurt much, and we do need to know."

"Let me think about it, okay? And me and Diana need to talk," Reenie asked quietly. She knew she had said too much, but it was too late to take it back now.

"All right, Reenie, if that's what you want," Serena didn't seem too happy with the answer, and Reenie reached up hesitantly to grasp her hand.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," Serena answered, "you've got to do what `you' think is right, not what I do."

"Thanks," Reenie said, squeezing her hand.

"You're welcome. Now, let's get home, Mom's probably really worried."

Mrs. Tsukino looked up as they walked into the house, and blinked. "Do you usually carry your cat on top of your head?" she asked in surprise.

"Uh-huh," Reenie agreed.

Mrs. Tsukino checked quickly to see where her husband was before pulling the two girls into a hug. "Are you alright? Were either of you hurt?"

"We're fine, Mom. This youma was really easy, nobody got a scratch," Serena tried to reassure her.

"Once you left, I started thinking of all the things that could go wrong, what if you got hurt? What would I do?"

"Mom! Nothing happened. I've been doing this for awhile now you know. I know what I'm doing."

"I don't," her mother admitted. "I don't know anything about being the mother of a superhero. I worry too much."

"So do I," Serena answered, "I worry every time Reenie fights, heck, I worry about all the Scouts. But I also know they can do what is necessary, and that if anyone can do it they can. You're a perfect superhero mother, Mom, because you're my perfect mother."

"A perfect mother, hmm?" Ellen Tsukino said in a lightened tone, "Then as a perfect mother, I should be saying something like... Don't you have homework to do, young lady?"

"But Mo-om, tomorrow's Sunday!" Serena whined; they all laughed.

"I'm scared, honey, I wish you weren't Sailor Moon." Her mother's voice was serious again.

"Sometimes I wish it too," Serena agreed very quietly, "but I am, Mom, and that's not going to change."

Ellen Tsukino kept them in a hug for a few moments longer, making sure Serena couldn't see the tears, of pride mainly, that were in her eyes.

"Dinner's almost ready, why don't you two go set the table," Mrs. Tsukino changed the subject. She suddenly realized she was adding more worries to a fifteen year old already overburdened with them. Her daughter had such responsibilities as she could never have imagined. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep from worrying, but decided to try to keep it from her daughter as much as possible.

Serena looked surprised at the request, but went to do as she was asked.

"Well, it worked," Spessarite mused, looking at the ball of energy that had already been collected.

"I told you it would," Quartz said sullenly.

"I know, dear," he answered, watching her shudder in revulsion at the word. "But I had to be sure. You should be glad it did, you wouldn't like what would happen if you misled me."

"Look, skimming it off the top at parties and concerts is the best way to get energy, and sending a youma down to distract the Scouts was a good idea too," she finished in a sullen tone.

"Yes, it was a good idea of mine, wasn't it?" Spessarite preened.

*_Of course the fact that I practically had to spell it out is going to go unmentioned,_* Quartz thought snidely. *_Settle down girl, you can't go underestimating him like that._*

"You had better be correct about this plan of yours, Quartz, or you know what will happen." Quartz was too caught up in her own thoughts to reply. Spessarite whipped out a hand and slapped her. "Pay attention to me," he said forcefully, "or I'll make sure you can't do anything else."

Quartz nodded once, not even raising her hand to wipe the blood off of her lip. "It should take about a week to gather the energy we need," she said without expression.

"Good, good," Spessarite gloated. "In a week, the Scouts will be finished."

Well, that's it for this Chapter. Will the Scouts find out what Spessarite is doing? And what is Quartz's plan? Find out in Chapter Five.


	6. Chapter 5

Hello. I really only have two things to say here today.

1) All standard disclaimers still apply.

2) Dedicated to Butterscotch "Kitsy-wobbles" Gentry

My own personal Lunar cat

September 15, 1983 to June 2, 1997

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter Five

Reenie woke up slowly. She started to struggle as she felt herself pinned down. *_Oh no! They've got me!_* was her first thought. She opened her eyes and got ready to scream, then collapsed in relief as she realized it was just Serena who moved in her sleep. Reenie gingerly pulled herself out from under Serena's arm, stood up, and got dressed without waking any of the other occupants of the room. Then she swept Diana up into her arms and walked out of the room.

She walked outside into the backyard, and settled down in a lawnchair. Diana was looking up at her. "I don't know what to do, Diana," she answered the silent question. "I've told them more than I was supposed to, more than I'd planned. Puu would be very annoyed with me."

"Why is it so wrong?" Diana mewed. "After all, it's not going to happen is it? You're going to change it, right?"

"Well, yeah," Reenie answered.

"So you're not really telling them the future, you're just telling them a might be, right?" Diana said absently, her head was raised smelling something.

"I suppose," Reenie said reluctantly, "and it's really not fair only telling them part of it," she sighed.

Diana jumped down from Reenie's lap and started following the strange scent. Reenie watched absently, still thinking of her problem. "I don't want to show her the note," she said very quietly. "I know she suspects, but I don't want her to `know'."

"Then don't," Diana mewed from her spot over by the fence. She found a hole and peered through it. She backed away before her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly started to step through.

The dog in the next yard rushed toward her, barking furiously. She hissed, and tried to pull back, but her bell got caught in the hole. "DIANA!" Reenie yelled.

A black blur jumped the fence and the dog yelped backwards with claw marks on his face. Luna stood in between Diana and the dog with her back arched and all of her fur standing on end as she hissed warningly. Reenie pulled Diana back into their yard as Luna jumped over the fence again.

"What do you think you were doing, going next door like that? Didn't you know there was a dog there?" Luna yelled. She took a few moments to smooth down her fur and her temper as she noticed how Diana was trembling.

"Is that a dog?" Diana asked in a very small voice.

Luna just looked at her. "Don't you know what a dog smells like?" she asked in a shocked voice.

Diana shook her head, making her bell ring. "I wasn't allowed out of the house. I've never seen a dog."

Luna blinked. "Well then, let me tell you all about them," she said leading her off.

Reenie smiled and then sighed, she still hadn't decided what to do. After thinking about it for a long moment, she sneaked back upstairs and pulled out the letter to read again.

Serena woke up. Her hand automatically went to the spot beside her where Reenie had slept. Meeting emptiness, her eyes snapped open and she sat up. Seeing Reenie sitting at her desk chair she settled back down. "Good morning," she greeted.

"Morning," Reenie said softly.

"Is something the matter?" Serena asked, sitting up again and noticing the sadness on Reenie's face. She also noticed the doll sitting in her lap. "We'll get it fixed Reenie, don't worry. Mika can fix it."

"I know," Reenie said quietly. "Mika made it, that's why it's Mi'a Doll. Mika Doll."

"Tell me about it. Please?" Serena asked softly.

"I was woken up by someone calling for Serena. I thought I was back here. And then..." Reenie began. Once she started she wasn't able to stop until the whole story came out. "It was all my fault," she sobbed.

Although she had started out in the chair, she looked up to find herself held gently in Serena's arms on the bed. "If I hadn't talked about the Scouts like that, the youma wouldn't have busted in and they wouldn't have died."

"You had no way of knowing," Serena soothed. "There was no way you could know that talking about the Scouts was forbidden or that there was someone listening."

"But they told me! They told me not to talk about them and instead I just talked about them more! I should have done as they said, then they would still be alive."

"I doubt it," Serena said harshly. "The fact that you said it once was probably enough. It sounds to me like this guy killed them because he could and he wanted to, no other reason. If it hadn't been because of what you said, he would have found another reason."

Reenie sat silently for a few moments. "Do you really think so?" she finally asked almost silently.

"I really do," Serena agreed. She gave Reenie a gentle hug that was returned in full measure.

"Go on downstairs while I get dressed," she smiled. As soon as Reenie was out of sight, Serena dropped her head in her hands. *_Oh Reenie, poor kid. And Sammy and Mika and... and... Darien. Their future's got to go back to the way it should be, it's got to!_*

As Serena finished getting dressed, she noticed the letter on her dresser. Reluctantly, she picked it up and read it. Her eyes were haunted as she folded it back up and clutched it in her hand.

She slowly went downstairs almost passing Sammy without noticing.

"Hey Sis!" he called out. "Where's your `daughter'?" he sneered.

Serena was about to snap back at him when she remembered what Reenie had told her. Instead, she went over to him and kissed him on the forehead before he could flinch away. "You're a wonderful brother, you know that?" she asked before continuing down the stairs.

Sammy stared after her in flabbergasted silence.

Serena gloated inside. *_I've got to try that more often if it shuts him up `that' well_.*

"Hi Mom, hi Dad," she greeted. Sammy came after her, still speechless.

"What are you doing today?" Mr. Tsukino asked.

"I'm going to take Reenie over to Mika's and see if she can fix Mi'a Doll," Serena answered through a mouthful of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear," Mrs. Tsukino said automatically.

"Yes, Mom," Serena answered while eating.

Mrs. Tsukino sighed. *_And she used to be a princess?_*

"That reminds me, have you managed to get in touch with Reenie's parents?" he asked.

Mrs. Tsukino spoke up. "Didn't I tell you?" she asked. "I spoke with them yesterday and agreed that Reenie should stay with us until it's safe."

"Without consulting me?" Mr. Tsukino asked.

"Or me?" Sammy muttered.

"There wasn't exactly an opportunity," she answered calmly. "And since everything Serena told us was true, I couldn't see forcing her to go back into a dangerous situation, could you?"

Mr. Tsukino looked over to see big red eyes staring pleadingly into his, then looked up to see blue ones doing the same thing. He softened, quickly. "I guess not."

"Surprise, surprise," Sammy muttered.

"Sammy," his mother asked, "whatever is the matter?"

"The matter? What could possibly be the matter?" he asked sarcastically.

"Are you having trouble with your science project?" Mr. Tsukino asked.

Mrs. Tsukino put her hands to her mouth. "Oh, Sammy, I'm so sorry, I forgot all about it."

"Yeah, I know, you thought that little girl was more important just because she was cute." He got up and stomped out of the room.

"Oh dear," Ellen Tsukino muttered, getting up and going after him.

"I think it's time for us to leave," Serena said, finished bolting her breakfast. Before Reenie had time to do more then finish her cereal, Serena had gotten Mi'a Doll out of her room, grabbed Reenie's hand and ran out of the house with Reenie trying to finish a last piece of toast as she was pulled along behind the older girl.

"We're not going to be late, you know," Reenie panted as she raced along.

Serena slowed slightly. "I know, but I have to keep in shape some way since I'm not running to school as often," she grinned.

"So you don't get detentions anymore?" Reenie asked.

"Well, not as often. I still get one occasionally. Like the other day when I was gossiping with Molly and Miss Haruna caught us. I don't think it would have been so bad if we hadn't been gossiping about her." Reenie laughed.

"Here we are," Serena said, coming to a stop in front of a house.

Reenie suddenly looked nervous. "Maybe it would be better if..."

She didn't have time to finish as Serena walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. A little girl opened the door. "Hello? Serena?" she asked in confusion.

"Hello Mika," Serena answered. "I'm sorry for coming so early, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"If I can," Mika answered, "come in."

"Reenie?" Serena asked, stepping aside to let her go in. Mika saw the broken doll in her arms.

"Oh, the poor doll," she cried, "and you want to know if I can fix it, right?"

Reenie struggled hard to keep the tears at bay as Mika reached for the doll her future self had made. "Her name is Mi'a Doll," she said quietly.

"Mi'a Doll? That's a nice name. She's very well made, but if I can't fix her, Mom can. Come on in." Mika stepped back, still holding the doll carefully.

"Go on in, Reenie," Serena said, "I've got some things to do, so go on home after, okay?"

"But Serena," Reenie said, staring at her.

"You'll be fine," Serena said, giving her a push. "Thanks Mika, I really appreciate this. I've got some things to do, Reenie, I'll see you later."

Serena turned around and left as Reenie was still staring after her. "Come in, please," Mika said quietly. Reenie geared up her courage and stepped inside. "My name's Mika."

"I'm Reenie," Reenie said shyly. "I'm staying with my cousin Serena."

"You're Sammy's cousin? I didn't know he had one," Mika said in surprise, leading the way into the workroom.

"Well, he doesn't like me that much right now," Reenie admitted. "He's mad because Auntie Ellen took me shopping when she was supposed to take him to get stuff for his science project."

"Sammy hasn't finished his science project yet?" Mika asked in surprise as she examined the doll. "It's due tomorrow!"

"I don't think he's even started it yet," Reenie admitted.

"That's just like him," Mika laughed, reaching for some glue, "He always leaves things until the last minute. I remember one time..."

Reenie slowly lost her shyness at being with the girl who would be her foster mother in another future as they gossiped. At first she had a very hard time keeping the tears from her eyes as Mika talked about Sammy, but Reenie started thinking of Mika less like the adult she knew for such a short time, and more like the kid she was now. Even after the doll was fixed, they sat and played and talked for hours. By the end of the day, they were good friends, and made plans to meet again the next afternoon.

Meanwhile, Serena had gone to the arcade. She was taking out her frustrations on the newest Sailor Moon game. "Aw! Come on!" she practically yelled as she died again. A hand caught hers as she tried to punch the game.

"What's the matter, Meatball Head?" a very familiar voice came from behind her.

"Muffin!" she cried, turning and throwing her arms around him, hugging him almost desperately.

"Serena, what's wrong, my sweet?" he asked worriedly.

"Nothing," came her muffled reply.

He took her by the chin and raised her head so he could look her in the eyes. He was surprised by the tears in them. "Serena?" he asked again.

She shook her head. "It's nothing," she replied again.

"Alright, then how about instead of pounding on the game over nothing, I treat you to an ice cream, okay?"

"Oh-kay!" Serena agreed happily, banishing the tears back to where they had come from.

Darien ordered a cup of coffee as Serena started in on the biggest banana split they had. Darien kept the talk light, steering away from any mention of Reenie or the future. He could tell that she was still on the edge of a full blown wailing fit and didn't want to set it off.

When she finished eating, she burrowed under his arm and they went for a walk. Not until they were alone did he raise the subject again. "What's the matter, Serena? Is it about Reenie?"

Serena told him what Reenie had said and handed him the note. "I don't want you to die!" she wailed, "And Sammy, and Mika and Amy and... and... everybody!" she threw her arms around him and cried into his shirt. "Why can't the Negaverse just leave us alone? What did we ever do to them?"

"ARRGH!" she suddenly yelled, pushing away from Darien before he could try to calm her down. "I am not in the mood for this!" she yelled, pulling out her brooch.

Darien turned to look at what had caught her attention. There was a youma in the middle of the lake blowing water in all directions. He quickly transformed into Tuxedo Mask, but he was still seconds behind Sailor Moon.

"This guy is really going to get it," she muttered, stomping toward the lake. "He's going to wish he never was born, I am not in the mood to deal with him!"

"Sailor Moon, call the others," Tuxedo Mask reminded her.

"No," she snapped back. She had already reached the edge of the lake. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she called out, not even bothering with a speech. The youma roared in pain as the tiara hit him.

"What do you mean, no?" Tuxedo Mask asked, even as he picked Sailor Moon up and jumped out of the way of the blast of water the youma threw at them.

"Just what I said, I want this guy to myself," Sailor Moon answered before sending her tiara out again. "Besides, it's just the two of us, fighting evil together, isn't it romantic?"

"That's not exactly what I'd call it," he answered sarcastically, sending out his roses. "And if you don't call them, I will."

Sailor Moon watched as the roses tore through the youma. "Why?" she asked, taking out her scepter. "Moon Scepter ELIMINATION!" The youma was dusted. "That was easy," she grinned. "I told you we didn't need the others."

"Too easy," Darien disagreed. "And I think we need to have a long talk about what you should and should not do when fighting youmas! That was just plain stupid!"

"WWWWHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Why are you being mean to me? I dusted it, didn't I?" Serena pouted. She knew what Darien meant, but was in no mood to hear it. "Besides, you said yesterday that you wanted to get in the action."

"That's not the point!" Darien sounded frustrated. "Just yesterday, one of those youmas managed to get you in the shoulder. Have you already forgotten that? You cannot underestimate them or do something stupid like that just because you're in a bad mood! What if you'd gotten hurt?" He played his ultimate trump card. "What if I'd gotten hurt?"

Serena's face screwed up and she burst into tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to put you in danger! I was just really mad, that's all. I'll never do it again. I promise."

Darien sighed, and smiled slightly as he looked down into Serena's pleading face, half the time, especially when Reenie was around, she acted so mature, and then the other times... *_Oh well_,* he thought humorously, *_I fell in love with her before she started to mature mentally, I guess I can put up with her until she finishes the job._* He stepped towards her and silenced her babbling.

She sighed when he finally broke the kiss. "I am sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay, just don't scare me like that again, hmm? Don't forget you're a part of a team." Darien smiled once more. "Now, I think we need to get Amy down here and see if she can get a reading on that youma. I don't like the fact that it was so easy to defeat, or that it's the third one in two days."

Amy wasn't able to find any real information on the youma or the reason for it. It hadn't tried to drain energy. It had just made noise and caused destruction until Sailor Moon took care of it. She did give Serena a dressing down for acting on her own, although she was more interested in why. She remembered the last time it had happened and seemed relieved that it was just bad temper that caused it.

Four days later, Jupiter was sure she had found the reason for the youmas. "They `are' trying to drain energy! They're trying to drain ours!"

The others tiredly agreed. Sailor Moon was asleep next to Tuxedo Mask. Crescent Moon was curled up in Sailor Sol's arms. The youma they had just defeated was the twelfth in the last four days. Of those, eight of them had come in the middle of the night and three in the middle of the day. Out of all twelve, only one had come at a time when they weren't in school or asleep.

Serena had gotten detention the last two days. After getting woken up in the middle of the night to fight, she would fall asleep in class. Even Amy had received detention this afternoon, after having to leave class without permission to fight a youma rampaging almost ten miles away.

Mrs. Tsukino was getting increasingly worried. She alone knew what danger her daughter was in, but even Sammy was starting to worry about the two girls. They would fall asleep at any time in any place, and while that had been normal for Serena, she had been getting over it. Serena was even losing her appetite, which worried everyone. Mrs. Tsukino put it down to hormones when her husband brought up the subject, and promised to take Serena to the doctor if she didn't get her energy

back soon.

She had gotten into the habit on checking on her daughter several times each night, and if she found her gone, would sit and wait until she came back. She too, was getting dark circles under her eyes, but she never said anything about her worries, keeping the promise she had made to herself not to burden Serena with them.

"Let's get home and try to get some more sleep," Mercury said around a yawn.

"Somebody wake sleeping beauty up," Sailor Mars groused.

"That's okay," Tuxedo Mask said, "I'll take her home."

"Ooh, you going to go into her bedroom?" Jupiter asked with a shocked expression.

Tuxedo Mask would have answered, but he was too tired. He had a major test the next day too. He stood up and raised Sailor Moon into his arms. Followed by Sailor Sol with Crescent Moon, they jumped away from the fight site where they had collapsed after the battle.

"I don't know how much longer we can take this," Sailor Sol admitted as they reached Serena's house. "I know I'm not the only one having trouble staying awake during the battles, not to mention during the day."

"I know," Tuxedo Mask agreed, jumping to Serena's window where Luna and Diana were anxiously waiting.

Mrs. Tsukino came in as Tuxedo Mask was depositing Sailor Moon on the bed. "Oh my god! What happened? Is she alright? Where's Reenie?"

"Right here, Aunt Ellen," Sailor Sol answered from the window, "and they're both fine. They just fell asleep after the fight tonight and we didn't have the heart to wake them."

"Thank goodness," she breathed.

"Either cover them up real well, or wake them up and have them detransform please," Tuxedo Mask said around a yawn as he headed back out the window.

"I'll be by in the morning," Sailor Sol smiled tiredly at his `aunt' as he followed his blood brother.

Sailor Moon and Crescent Moon slept on.

Mrs. Tsukino tried several times to wake them up, but they slept on. Not even Luna was able to wake them up. Finally, she just made sure the sheet covered them and left the room.

The next morning, the alarm clock rang. Sailor Moon reached out and swatted it, and then, to the amazement of the cats, got up. "What the...?" she exclaimed, looking down at herself. She quickly detransformed, and looked at the Scout in the bed next to her. "Come on Reenie, wake up," she reached over and shook the little girl, who woke up immediately.

"Good morning, Mommy," she said while stretching.

"Good morning, Small Lady," Serena answered, "Now detransform and get dressed."

"Eek! I didn't even know I was transformed," she said, quickly changing to Reenie.

The two girls reached the kitchen followed by two completely mystified cats.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad, hi Sammy," Serena greeted brightly.

Reenie waved hello and sat down to eat, followed quickly by Serena. "Where's Travis?" Reenie asked with her mouth full of food. Serena was too busy eating to do more than nod agreement.

"He said he'd be here," Mrs. Tsukino answered, looking as surprised as everyone else. "He must have overslept."

Serena stopped in mid-bite and her eyes gleamed as she looked at her mother. She swallowed what she had in her mouth before speaking. "Did you say overslept?" her eyes were dancing with mischief. "We can't have that, can we? May I borrow a pitcher?"

Reenie and Sammy choked on their food as they realized what she intended. "Can I watch?" they both asked as they stopped coughing.

Serena hadn't even waited for her mother to agree. Without even finishing her breakfast, she ran and got her things, grabbed a pitcher which she filled with ice and ran out the door. Reenie and Sammy quickly followed.

Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino grinned at each other. "I think she's over whatever she had," he said.

"It looks like it. Poor Travis," Mrs. Tsukino mock sighed. "I don't think he ever considered what she might do if this ever happened." Her eyes had lost the worry that had seemed to take up permanent residence.

"It worked though," Mr. Tsukino laughed. "Now to see if it will work on the other half."

Serena knocked frantically on the front door of Travis' house. Darien Jacobson finally opened it. He looked at the three people on his front porch, practically bouncing with eagerness. "What's the matter, Serena?"

"Is Travis up?" she asked breathlessly.

"I haven't checked, I thought he was already at your house for breakfast," Jake admitted.

"Yes! He's overslept!" Serena grinned madly and moved into the house.

"What's going on?" he asked the other two.

"Do you remember what Travis did to Serena when she overslept?" Sammy asked moving quickly past him.

"It's her turn now," Reenie continued.

Jake had to think for a long moment, before he understood what they meant. He grinned as well and moved quickly behind them to Travis' room. Serena had already filled the pitcher and was testing the water, waiting for the ice to make it cold.

Finally, taking her time, Serena slowly tipped the pitcher, pouring the water over her sleeping brother.

"!" he yelled, bolting out of bed. Serena, Reenie, and Sammy collapsed into laughter. "What did you do that for?" he yelled, shivering.

"I had to wake you up," she answered when she could stop laughing.

"Why are you so wide awake this morning?" he asked grumpily.

"I don't know, but I feel great," she was still grinning. "And if you don't hurry and get dressed, you're going to be late for school."

"I'm going to get you for this one," he muttered, shooing them out of the room.

Serena just laughed.

That afternoon, after a day with no fights, everyone gathered at the temple.

"Why's the meeting so late?" Serena asked. "I was actually able to go to the arcade without being late."

"You mean you didn't have detention?" Raye asked in disbelief.

"Nope, did you?" she asked absently, then stared as she realized. "You did! You had detention! Raye, the `why are you late, detention again' person had detention! Oh, this is so cool, and after I got to wake Travis up this morning too."

"It's not like it's my fault I overslept," Raye snapped.

"That's what I always say, but you never believe me," Serena answered. They seemed about to get into one of their tongue wars when it was broken up.

"You woke Travis up?" Mina asked.

"Yep, and I don't think he liked it much either," Serena laughed. turning away from Raye.

"You were awake before him?" Artemis asked in disbelief.

"'I didn't have any trouble waking up this morning, I felt great," Serena responded.

"Me too," Reenie agreed.

"Of course!" Luna interrupted. "It's because you slept in your Sailor forms," she realized. "It refreshed you more than sleeping in your normal form, the same way that you heal faster as Sailor Moon."

"You mean, all we have to do to get a good night's sleep is sleep in our Sailor forms? That's easy enough," Lita crowed.

"For you," Mina replied, "but what about those of us that have families?"

"There's no telling when my mother will come home and come check on me," Amy agreed.

"Uncle Jake rarely does, but what if he does and finds me in my Scout form?" Travis put in, "There's no way I could explain that away."

"I don't dare do it again either," Serena agreed, coming down off of her high from having done better than Raye. "Sammy's been playing tricks on me and Reenie lately," she continued, ignoring Amy's automatic, "Reenie and I". "If he came in the room to play one... But to be able to wake up that easily every morning..."

"I don't think it will work like that," Luna answered. "You were totally exhausted, your reserves completely dry, so your Scout form healed you. But doing it again won't do you any good, you can't heal something that isn't hurt."

"You mean it will only work if I'm that tired?" Serena pouted. "That's not fair!"

"We still have to find a way for the rest of us to raise our energy levels," Raye put in.

"I smell a slumber party," Mina announced, grinning.

"I like your nose," Lita answered. "When and where?"

"As soon as feasible," Amy yawned. "If we can perhaps convince our parents it's a study session?"

"There is that test on Friday in English," Lita suggested.

"Which is still my worst subject," Serena agreed.

"I don't think Uncle Jake will accept that," Travis grinned. "But my bed's probably still wet, so I might be able to beg a couch from Darien."

"That won't work, you have several spare rooms in your house," Serena answered.

"Well, I could always say I was afraid you'd come and douse me with cold water again," Travis answered back.

"You deserved it," Serena said, sticking out her tongue.

"I haven't done it to you in almost two months! How can you say I deserve it?" Travis stuck out his tongue at her before thinking of a better way. "Mayhaps my sister doth not truly care for my poor sensibilities. She hath seen fair to strike me down in my darkest hour. Oh woe is me, to have such an ungrateful and revengeful kin."

"Alright already! I'm sorry!" Serena yelled, covering her ears.

"You know, his formal speech isn't `that' bad," Lita murmured to Mina.

"I know, it's kind of cute actually," Mina giggled.

"They're just having fun," Reenie says. "They still do it once in a while in the future."

"You mean they don't ever grow up?" Raye asked in semi-despair.

"Would you want them to?" Reenie shot back.

Raye didn't believe that required an answer. "So we're going to try for a slumber party at Lita's house tonight, right?" she asked.

"My house? When did we decide on that?" Lita asked, surprised. "It's fine with me though."

"Me and Reenie will be there. Okay, okay," Serena continued as Amy opened her mouth, "Reenie and I will be there. Happy?"

"I can convince Grandpa easily," Raye said. "What time?"

The fight that night found a group of well rested Scouts. It took them almost no time at all to dust the youma. Mercury took readings as she had from the beginning. Suddenly, she frowned.

"What's up Mercury?" Jupiter asked. "Did you find something?"

"I think so... It's almost as if..." she looked up. "I don't know why I didn't pick this up before, but I've got traces of a youma actually draining energy. I just can't figure out where, or why I didn't see it before."

"One of these?" Crescent Moon asked.

"No, somewhere else, one we've never seen before," Mercury answered. "It will take me a couple of days to gather the data and correlate it, especially if it stays this low key."

"Do you think the youmas have been sent to distract us from finding the one that's gathering energy?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"I'd say it's likely," Mercury replied.

"So now we know why," Sailor Sol muttered.

The next day, in the Emperor's castle in the Negaverse.

"We have enough energy," Spessarite gloated. "It's time to begin."

Serena's watch beeped as she was reading comics in her room. "I've found it! The one that's been draining energy," Amy's voice came through clearly.

"Time to go, Reenie," Serena called after finishing the scene she was reading.

"Be careful, Serena," Luna said. "I think this one will be a lot different than the easy ones you've been fighting for the past week."

"I know, I know," Serena answered. "The others are going to be happy, they've been itching for a real fight."

The eight humans, three cats, and a falcon, met outside the park's perimeter. "Here, again?" Mina asked plaintively.

"There was an outdoor concert here tonight," Amy answered. "That's where it pulled the energy from. It was clumsier than usual, allowing me to get a comprehensive reading on it."

"You going to fight?" Diana asked, having enjoyed the fights she'd seen so far.

"Transform everyone!" Artemis called out.

"SUN STONE POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

"MERCURY STAR POWER!"

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER DUO!"

Tuxedo Mask took to the trees as the Scouts raced towards the youma who suddenly appeared.

"SOLAR FLARE!" Sailor Sol yelled as he attacked.

"Eww!" the other Scouts cried in disgust.

The large, human headed spider easily sidestepped the burst of energy Sailor Sol had thrown at him. His eight legs allowed him to move quickly. As the Scouts were still staring at it in disgust, it crawled the side of the monument nearest to it, and threw a sticky strand of rope towards the Scouts. They barely managed to get over their disgust in time to get out of the way. Venus found herself roughly pushed to the ground by a fast moving Jupiter, just before the strand would have

hit her.

"I am Arachna, and I am here to destroy you!" the youma said confidently.

"I've seen a lot of ugly monsters, but you're one of the worst," Sailor Moon called out.

From within the Negaverse Palace, Spessarite looked through the youma's eyes at the seven Scouts getting ready to attack.

"A park is a place for picnics and fun, not a place to get your energy drained. In the name of the Moon, I will right wrongs, and triumph over evil and ugliness. And that means you!"

His mind went back to `convincing' Quartz to tell him how to defeat the Scouts. He smiled at the thought, before his mind was brought back to the fight before him.

The youma shot out another strand of sticky web at Sailor Moon before she could even move from her pose. She yelped as it wrapped around her ankle, and she fell to the ground. The web started dragging her towards the spider bodied one.

"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" attacked the sticky rope, breaking it.

Sailor Moon scrambled to her feet and breathed out a quick thank you to her friend.

Spessarite held his breath as he watched the Scouts spread out to encircle the youma. His eyes lit with triumph as Sailor Mercury stepped within one of the previously set web traps. Before she could move, it snapped close around her, pulling her high into one of the nearby trees.

"Mercury!" several of the Scouts cried out. Sailor Moon started running towards the tree with Venus a step behind her.

The spider was faster. Before they could get to the tree, it had already passed them, heading for the same place.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Sailor Moon called as she sent her tiara towards the human head.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" shot out towards the monster's legs, wrapping around one of them. Sailor Venus pulled back, pulling the youma off balance, and, unfortunately, out of the way of Sailor Moon's tiara.

"Something's wrong," Sailor Mars suddenly said. "I can feel it, something is very wrong."

"Of course something's wrong," Jupiter answered, as she ran towards the fight, "That thing has Mercury!"

The youma suddenly lunged to the side, and sent a strand of web at Jupiter, catching her arms as they were crossed to begin her attack. The sticky strands pinned her arms across her chest. "Yuck," she cried, as she tried to pull her arms apart, "this stuff's worse than taffy."

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" Sailor Mars yelled. Most of her attack traveled towards the youma, scorching its fur, while several rings tried to burn off the web on Jupiter's arms.

Once again the youma proved how fast it was. Even with Venus' chain still wrapped around its leg, it managed to get out of the way of most of the attack, only getting scorched. The fire sent at Jupiter didn't do much good, for Sailor Mars was afraid to let it get too close to Jupiter herself.

"How much longer can you hold, Venus?" Sailor Sol asked.

"Not much longer," she gasped.

"Then everybody at once," Sailor Sol commanded.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

"SOLAR FLARE!"

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

"CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

The attack flew towards the youma, who suddenly gave an extremely sharp yank, pulling his leg out of Venus' chain and racing up a nearby tree. The tree that Mercury was in.

"Mercury!" came from several throats.

Tuxedo Mask had been trying to work his way through the trees to the one Mercury was in, but it had taken him longer then he expected. He reached it just in time to see Arachna skitter up it. Tuxedo Mask followed immediately. When Tuxedo Mask got to the top of the tree, he saw the youma almost finished covering Mercury with a cocoon. Only her nose was still uncovered. A rose flew out, destroying the web strand before it could finish the job. The spider whirled, just in time to get a cane in the face. Arachna fired off several strands of web which Tuxedo Mask just managed to evade, before a scream from down below caught their attention. The youma jumped downward and Tuxedo Mask was about to follow.

"Hmmph!" Mercury murmured.

Tuxedo Mask turned back towards the trapped Scout and covered her in his cape as he carried her down out of the trees. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern as he used a rose to cut the strands around her mouth.

"I think so, but I feel weird, like something has happened but I can't determine what it is," Mercury answered as they reached the ground.

"Let me get this off of you," Tux said gently.

"Go, I'll be fine," Mercury answered. "Help the others."

"This won't take long," he insisted, using the rose to start cutting more of the web off of her face.

"Tuxedo Mask, what if it was Sailor Moon or Crescent Moon that screamed? I'll be fine here by myself as long as you keep the arachnid busy."

Reluctantly, he hid her cocoon nearby and went out to help the Scouts.

When the youma had gone into the tree, the Scouts just stood there for a long moment trying to decide how to get up there. Then they saw the flash of Tuxedo Mask's cape going up as well.

"Tuxedo Mask will save her," Sailor Moon said, her eyes going dreamy.

"I want to see if I can find a better place to see from," Sailor Venus said, darting in a large circle around the tree.

"I can't get this stupid stuff off of my arms!" Jupiter yelled in disgust. Not being able to get in on the action was a real pain. Mars and Sol turned their attention to that problem as Moon and Crescent Moon continued staring towards the battle they could occasionally hear going on at the top of the tree.

The scream cut through the air like a knife.

Sailor Moon looked around quickly. "Venus! Venus where are you?" The Scouts started running to the new problem spot, leaving Sailor Sol still working on Jupiter's bonds.

"Go on, find Venus," Jupiter told him.

"I'm not going to leave you defenseless like this," he answered as he pulled out his sword and carefully started slicing the web apart.

"Sailor Venus needs you more. Please Sailor Sol, you know nothing's going to get the best of me," she said with a confidence she didn't truly feel.

"Alright," he agreed resignedly. After checking to make sure there was no one near, he ran off after the others.

He found Venus sprawled on the ground, where she had fallen when two tiaras had cut the web holding her in the tree. "There's traps on the ground, snares. If you step in one, you set it off, and it takes you to the top of the tree," she explained.

"Which is what happened to Mercury," Mars said.

"Mercury is fine," Tuxedo Mask said as he caught up with them, "She's wrapped in web, but other than that, looks like she's okay. Where's Arachna?"

"Jupiter!" Sailor Sol called out, turning to run back in the direction he came from. The other Scouts followed. They arrived to find a long white cocoon where Sailor Jupiter had been. It was rocking wildly.

Tuxedo Mask pulled out a rose, as Sailor Sol pulled out the Sun Sword. They quickly but carefully cut away the webbing on her nose and mouth.

"Thanks," she whispered after taking several deep breaths. "It was on me so fast, I couldn't defend myself."

"I knew I shouldn't have left you here alone," Sailor Sol swore at himself. "I should never have left you unprotected."

"You couldn't have known it would come back, but could you get me out of this stuff? Please?" Jupiter wheedled.

"I'll go get Mercury," Tuxedo Mask called out. "After this, I don't want her left alone."

Sailor Sol was carefully cutting the strands of web surrounding Jupiter when he returned.

"Mercury! Are you alright?" Sailor Moon asked in concern.

"Help!" Crescent Moon cried. "Get it off, get it off!"

The Scouts turned quickly to see Crescent Moon being pulled into the forest. "CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she cried, sending her tiara towards the line of spider's web holding her waist.

"Crescent Moon!" Sailor Moon cried out as she raced after her daughter.

"Reenie!" Diana called, and started moving towards the fight.

"No you don't, little one," Artemis said, putting one paw on her to hold her down. "There's nothing you can do to help her. This is the hardest part of being a guardian, waiting."

"Watch out Sailor Moon, or you'll be caught too!" Sailor Mars yelled as she started to run after their leader.

"No, Mars, stay here with Jupiter and Mercury. Sol and I will go after her," Tuxedo Mask ordered.

Mars looked about to argue, but Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Sol didn't give her any time to do so.

Mars and Venus watched with bated breath, waiting for something to happen in the trees their friends had just gone into. The sticky web hitting them in the back and connecting them together was a complete surprise.

Both of them tried to whirl to face their opponent that had come up behind their backs, but only managed to enclose themselves farther into the web. They turned again, trying to get out, and bumped into each other, almost sending them both to the ground.

"Stand still," Mars growled at Venus, managing, by turning in a circle, to allow them both to face the youma.

Somehow, luckily, their arms were still free. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" raced towards the youma. It jumped, but once again the chain managed to catch one of its legs. This time it pulled it down into Mars' fire rings.

The youma screamed. More and more webs came from its spinnerets, tying the Scouts together, tighter and tighter. It covered their mouths and noses before they could react, entrapping their arms against their sides.

Mars tried to use the meditation techniques she had learned as a priestess to slow her breathing. It was working until her concentration was broken as her mind was abruptly drawn to something else. *_This is what I felt before, there's something else here, something more._* That was her last thought before losing consciousness from oxygen deprivation.

Sailor Moon, Crescent Moon, Sailor Sol, and Tuxedo Mask exploded from the underbrush once more to see Arachna standing over three cocoons where there had been only two. The youma was singed, and looked like it had been hurt. No one waited to see how badly.

"CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!" "SOLAR FLARE!" flew towards the youma, followed by a number of roses. It jumped into the air, but this time, they were ready for it.

Moon Scepter ELIMINATION!" turned the youma into dust.

From the Negaverse, Spessarite chuckled as his youma was destroyed. It had done what was necessary.

On the battleground of Mina's school, Sailor Sol and Tuxedo Mask were frantically trying to cut through the bindings around Mars and Venus. Everyone sighed in relief as their noses and mouths were cut free, and they started to take deep breaths.

"Now that they're safe, do you think someone might be able to cut me free?" Jupiter asked plaintively.

Sailor Moon and Crescent Moon moved towards the youma's first victims.

"This isn't logical," Amy said, as their tiara's started carefully cutting the webbing. "Why would the youma trap us so thoroughly, but not try to drain our energy? It goes against every strategy they have used."

"Well, it did feel like I lost some of my energy, soon after I was covered," Lita disagreed.

"True, there was that sensation, but not to the extent there should have been," Amy still pondered.

At almost the same time, the cocoons were cut from all four bodies. Sailor Moon frowned. "Why did you all detransform?" she asked, puzzled.

"I didn't!" the others answered, also puzzled, before looking down at themselves. "How did that happen?" one of them asked in confusion.

Sirens were heard in the distance. The cats' voices were heard closer by. "Why are you four in your normal forms? The police are coming. Transform and get out of here!" Luna ordered.

Mina and Raye were still a little weak, but they stood up and raised their hands to the sky.

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

"MERCURY STAR POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"This isn't possible," Lita whispered. "JUPITER STAR POWER! Come on, come on, JUPITER STAR POWER! Why isn't it working?" her voice was almost a shout. "Why can't we transform?"

There we have it. Yet another chapter. I liked this one, what about you? Write and tell me!


	7. Chapter 6

Hi everyone,

I actually have something to write here besides standard disclaimers apply. Of course, I do still have to write that, so standard disclaimers apply. Thanks go to Michael and Jenn for helping me think up a power for the youma. And to Douglas Helm, for a much better title then the one I had originally.

Enjoy!

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 6: Then there were four

"Why can't we transform?" Lita yelled.

"No time now!" Sailor Sol called. "We have to get out of here!" Sirens were getting closer, drawn by reports of the fight. The Scouts took off for the trees, and entered the cover seconds before the police reached the scene. Without discussing it, the group headed for the temple.

"Alright," Luna started. "What happened?"

Raye opened her mouth to respond, but Serena spoke first. "Reenie, honey, what's wrong?"

The others looked over to see Reenie sobbing against her father's chest. "Everybody's lost their powers," she cried. "'That' must be what changed the future! Now it will never go back to the way it was!"

"Reenie, calm down," Raye answered. "We only got a little drained. We'll be fine when we've rested. Right?" she asked almost desperately.

"Try it again," Luna requested. "I need to see exactly what happens."

The four girls timidly raised their hands into the air.

"MARS STAR POWER!"

"MERCURY STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

The four girls lowered their hands. "Nothing," Mina almost cried.

"Amy, let me see your power stick please," Luna asked.

Amy reached behind her and twisted her hand in a strange gesture, making it disappear for a moment. She brought it back out, empty. "That's strange," she murmured, doing it again. This time she brought out her computer. She reached back once more and again her hand emerged empty. "I can't find it," she said in surprise.

The other three quickly made the same gesture. Their hands too, emerged empty. "Our transformation pens!" Mina said. "They're gone!"

In the Negaverse, Spessarite gloated down at the four pens now in his possession. Once more his mind went back to the plan Quartz had devised but never would have used without his... encouragement.

Quartz looked down at the pens in well hidden dismay. *At least he took four out of commission.*

"No! Wait! I'll tell you!" Quartz cried. "I'll tell you how to get rid of the Scouts."

Spessarite raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?" he asked.

Taking another quick look at her father, Quartz led the way over to a viewscreen in the corner. She set the controls. In seconds a tunnel was shown. "This is Malachite's last battle with the Scouts. The one where he died," she began.

"I don't want ancient history," Spessarite said harshly. "What one of those half baked Generals did that got him killed is none of my concern!"

"Are you going to listen or not?" Quartz said to him. "If you don't want to understand my plan, that's fine with me!"

"Don't talk to me in that tone of voice," Spessarite warned harshly. "If you're just trying to scare me with shots of how powerful they were, you're wasting your time," Spessarite growled. "I am much more powerful than Malachite ever was! If he didn't have an `in' with the Queen, I would have become General-in-Chief. Everyone knows that I was much worthier of it. Hmm... perhaps it would be amusing to watch his last moments. You may continue."

Quartz sighed a little too loudly. Spessarite's fist impacted her face before she could move out of the way. "I'm in control now," he growled, "I would suggest you remember that. Remember as well that I am the one who decides if you and Rhyolite live or die. Don't make me angry." All trace of the haughty, snide, pompous General was gone. Now, he was all business.

Quartz carefully hid her expression as she started the tape. It showed the Scouts appearing out of thin air, with Sailor Moon almost collapsing. "We don't know what happened while they were gone, but it doesn't matter much," Quartz began again. "This is the part I'm interested in. We're interested in," she corrected herself before the General had an opportunity to. They watched in silence as the Scouts formed a circle around their leader and created a shield. She stopped the tape there, and zoomed in on the Scouts hands. "Look here," she said, pointing to the pens they were holding.

"What are they?" Spessarite asked, interested in spite of himself.

"That's what I wanted to know," Quartz replied. "They seemed to be pouring energy through the sticks. I did some research and found references to them from the Silver Millennium. They were called power sticks, or transformation pens, or occasionally magic wands. As far as I can tell, it is these pens that allow the Scouts to transform from ordinary girls into the Sailor Scouts. If we could get them they wouldn't be able to transform anymore. Or so I believe."

"So, we send someone to steal them while they're fighting," Spessarite said thoughtfully.

"It's not quite that simple," Quartz disagreed. "Look again." She rewound the tape to their entrance and showed the clip through. "Where did they get them?" she asked.

He curtly gestured for her to show it again, and she did. "A hyper-dimensional pocket," he finally realized.

"That's right," Quartz agreed. "As far as we can tell anyway."

"So we must find a reason for them to bring them out, and then we can steal them, and we will have the power of their power sticks."

"Oh, so you're going to fight them personally?" Quartz asked brightly. *Oh, I hope so, I'd love to see them turn you into dust!* "That's the only time they've ever used them like that that we know of. So maybe a personal visit from you will cause them to."

"I am a General! I do not fight common riffraff like that!" he said pompously.

"Of course not," Quartz muttered. "You might actually get hurt or put yourself in danger." This time, she spoke too low for Spessarite to hear. Her voice got louder. "There is a way," she said. "There is a youma in the Emperor's forces that has the ability to reach between space and into such hyper-dimensional pockets. The drawback is that he requires monumental amounts of energy to do so. That is the only reason he was never killed as a security risk."

"He can reach into their personal space pockets and pull out their transformation pens?" he asked in a hungry voice. "We can have the power from them?"

"Now hold on," Quartz interrupted. "There's no guarantee that we'll be able to use them, in fact, I don't believe we can. If the person building them had any sense, they'll be coded to only respond to the people they were built for, in my opinion. What we can do, is keep them from using them. If they can't transform, they can't fight."

"Without the Sailor Scouts, we would have free rein over the entire world! No one could stop us! I'm so glad I thought of this wonderful plan. We'll begin immediately."

"We don't have the energy for the youma to reach into the hyper-dimensional pockets," Quartz reminded him, carefully keeping her thoughts about that last statement out of her voice. "We have to gather that first." She explained her plan for gathering energy.

*Hopefully, his people will rebel if he gets them killed at that rate,* she thought to herself, her eyes burning with hate. *I'm sorry to do it to them, they're only obeying orders. Can't get soft now, Quartz. I just hope Dimenso doesn't get all of their `magic wands'. As long as he's holding my father, I don't dare do anything overt or mess up the plan too badly.*

::It'll work out, Quartz, it has to.:: Came the thoughts of the Head of Intelligence on Earth. ::Do you think it would be better if I came back?::

::No!:: Quartz disagreed. She hadn't been aware that she had been transmitting, but wasn't terribly surprised either. ::Stay there. If worse comes to worse, I'll try to get the location of their magic wands to you and you'll have to try to get them back to the Scouts.::

::I just don't like the thought of you being in danger like this, and if your plan works, if the Scouts are really out of the picture...::

::Enough with the gloomy thoughts,:: Quartz responded, making sure no one noticed her silent conversation. ::We'll make it work. We've never failed before.::

::We've never walked this fine a line before either,:: the other responded. ::Later.::

"Do we have enough energy to get the other pens?" Spessarite asked, breaking into Quartz's thoughts.

She shook her head slightly to clear it. "Not all of them," she said. "We have enough energy for one more try."

"Sailor Moon then," Spessarite said after thinking it over. "Tell Dimenso to get Sailor Moon's transformation pen."

"All right," Quartz agreed, wishing she had dared lie. *That will still leave those two new Scouts and Tuxedo Mask, maybe that will be enough.*

"By the way, if the Scouts do show up, expect to die very, very painfully," Spessarite smiled cruelly as he left the room.

"And if I can get my father free, expect the same," she whispered, glaring after him.

"So that spider thing managed to steal their pens and they're laying on the ground somewhere from where he disappeared, right?" Serena asked.

"I don't think so," Raye said slowly. "I felt something else, besides the spider youma."

"Besides," Amy said, happy to get her mind on something else, "there was no indication when I scanned Arachna that it would have the power to do something like reach into our Lunar Space Pockets and steal our power sticks."

"So there's a Lunar Space pickpocket around somewhere," Mina put in.

"Yeah," Artemis agreed, after wincing from the pun. "It sounds like it."

"Well, Amy and Luna can make us some new pens right?" Lita suddenly asked. "Stronger ones, like they did before."

Amy shook her head. "Not without the pens to work with."

"Well, then, where are the original pens?" Travis asked. "Maybe you can use them."

Everyone, including Reenie, looked at Luna in hope. She slowly shook her head. "When you first used your new pens, the power from your old ones was incorporated into them. Without the power to hold them together, they dissolved, turned into dust."

Reenie started crying harder. "I failed," she sobbed.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked her gently.

"This is why you didn't fight in the future. It has to be! That means that the future's changed. I was supposed to stop it and I couldn't and now it will never go back to the way it was, and Sammy... and Mika..."

Diana got up from where she'd been watching. "Serena?" she said to Reenie, before anyone else could try to reassure her.

"How many times do I have to tell you? My name's Reenie!" Reenie shouted, not wanting to be reminded of the other future.

"Then it's not over, is it?" Diana asked in confusion. "The other future, your future's still possible if you can still remember it, right?"

"Diana's right," Amy agreed. "As long as you still remember Crystal Tokyo, there's still a chance for it to happen."

Reenie sniffled. "Do you really think so?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, I do," Amy replied.

"I think so too, Small Lady," Serena agreed. "Besides, just because they have them now, doesn't mean they'll keep them! After all, we're the Sailor Scouts!"

"Not without our pens we're not," Raye remarked harshly.

"Then we'll get them back!" Serena glared at Raye.

"Besides," Darien interjected, "are you saying you're only Scouts because you have pens? Or are you Scouts because it's what you were born to be? You have powers beyond those of your Scout form, use them." He noticed the way Travis was looking at him closely. "What?" he asked.

"I was just wondering where your cape and mask were," Travis said, smiling slightly. "That sounded an awful lot like one of your Tuxedo Mask speeches."

"It's fine for Amy and Raye," Lita interrupted. "After all, Amy still has her computer and Raye can still use the fire, but my power is my strength, and I don't have it anymore! I'm useless to you guys," she said, standing up. "I'll just get in the way." She ran off.

"Lita!" Serena called, getting up and running after her.

"Serena!" Darien called, getting up with difficulty since Reenie was still in his arms.

"Don't Darien," Travis said. "I don't think Lita really wants us around her at the moment. Serena's the best one to convince her she's not useless."

"Why should she try?" Mina asked, causing the others to look at the Scout of Love. "Lita's right, without our powers, we're pretty much useless."

"No!" Reenie yelled, getting up and running in front of her as she started to walk off. "You're not useless! Please don't go, Mina, please!" Tears were starting in her eyes again. "We can't let it happen. We can't let them win. The future really will be changed if you all quit fighting!"

"Reenie, there's nothing I can do here. I can't fight without my powers. I'm not that strong; no one is," Mina's voice was anguished. She wasn't used to being powerless, and she hated the sight of the tears on Reenie's face.

"You can still help!" Reenie pleaded. "Just please, please don't leave. Come on Mina, stay and help. Don't break up the Scouts just because of this!"

"Just?" Raye broke in in disbelief. "Reenie, this isn't just anything. We don't have our transformation pens. That means we can't fight, it's that simple."

"But you can still help," Travis said. "Raye, your psychic senses, Amy and her computer skills, and Mina, you've fought more than any of the others. I can't believe you're just giving up! We'll get your transformation pens back, but what good will it do if there are no Sailor Scouts to give them to?"

"He's right," Amy agreed quietly. "We can't give up just because of a setback. We just have to have a new plan to work things out."

"Come on, Mina," Artemis spoke up, "I taught you better than this. Are you going to make everybody believe that I raised a quitter? Ah, I've got it! This is just a plot of yours to make me look bad!"

"What?" Mina asked as Artemis tried to keep a straight face at the look of utter incredulity on her face.

"I can see it now, all the other Lunar cats laughing at me for training you to be that way, and all the time, you're doing it on purpose! I had no idea you were so devious."

"I am not doing it on purpose, you take that back!" Mina yelled at Artemis, starting to chase him around the temple grounds.

"Mama, is Papa always this silly?" Diana asked.

"Yes, dear, your father is a clown," Luna sighed, but inwardly she smiled at the grins on the others faces.

"Lita, slow down! I can't run that fast!" Serena called out several blocks away from the temple. Lita had immediately started running as soon as she left the others sight and Serena had had a hard time keeping up.

Lita turned back in surprise to see Serena leaning against a lamppost, panting. "I said I wanted to be alone," she snapped.

"Why? So you can go home and mope?" Serena asked. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you do that?"

"Look Serena, there's nothing I can do without my transformation pen. And really, all I'd be doing is putting you in danger. It's best I just leave for now."

"So you're quitting, just like that?" Serena asked.

"I don't have a choice!"

"Is this the person who took on a youma with her bare hands when we first met?" Serena asked looking her in the eye.

"That was different, and I was getting royally tromped then too."

"In other words, you're quitting?" Serena asked again.

"If it makes you feel better to think of it like that, then yes, I'm quitting! Happy?" Lita asked sarcastically.

"Fine," Serena said reaching up to her brooch and taking it off her shirt, "Then I quit too."

"WHAT? You can't do that! You're the Princess!" Lita was shocked.

"You're a princess too," Serena shrugged, "and if you can quit, I can quit. It's not like I ever really wanted to do this in the first place. So, now that we're no longer saving the world, what do you want to do? Go shopping? Go get some ice cream? What?"

"What are you doing?" Lita asked in confusion. "You've got to fight!"

"Why? Because it's my destiny? It's your destiny too, but you get to quit, so why can't I?" With that, Serena dumped her brooch into a nearby garbage can and started to walk off.

"Serena, get back here!" Lita yelled.

Serena didn't answer, walking forward without even looking back.

"Serena, you're the only hope the world has," Lita told her.

"Not without the Scouts," Serena answered, looking at her. "I can't do it without you by my side. Even if, at this moment, you can't fight, I still need you there. I need to know you're behind me, with me, still believe in me."

"We are, we do," Lita looked in her eyes. "We're always there for you, you know that."

"That's not how it looked to me," Serena shook her head. "You left."

"It wouldn't have been for good," Lita said. "I was just frustrated. I would have been back. You didn't have to come after me."

"Yes I did," Serena disagreed. "You're my friend, and you would have done the same as me. You have in fact."

"I can't believe you had me almost believing you would actually quit the Sailor Scouts," Lita murmured, going up to her and giving her a hug. "I know you wouldn't do that, not without us pushing you out."

"Right," Serena said. "Of course not."

The two girls headed back to the temple, to see Mina was chasing Artemis all over the yard, while Raye's crows Phobos and Deimos scolded them. Raye was watching while leaning on her broom while Amy was working on her computer, Reenie was giggling slightly, and Luna, Diana, and Apollo egged Mina on.

"What's going on?" Serena asked as she came up the steps with Luna in tow.

"Oh, you know Artemis. He couldn't help making a smart remark that Mina wasn't too happy about," Travis turned and smiled at the two. "So you brought her back, hmm? That's... Where's your brooch?"

"My brooch?" Serena started, looking down at where it should be. "OH NO! I left it in the garbage can!" she screamed, racing back down the steps.

"Garbage can?" Darien asked, blinking. "She left the Imperium Silver Crystal in a garbage can?"

"She was trying to make a point," Lita said, blushing. "And then we just kind of... forgot it."

"Must have been some point," Raye muttered.

"Oh, it was," Lita smiled.

Ten minutes later, when Serena returned, wiping off her brooch, the others were sitting around talking. "Well, have we decided anything yet?" she asked as she joined Darien and Reenie on the steps.

"Well," Amy replied, "I've set my computer to try to find any trace of our pens, and see if we can find out where they've been draining power from."

"I'll be asking the Great Fire, and seeing if I feel anything strange as I go around town. I also should still have my anti-evil charms, because they're part of my Shinto priestess abilities, not a Sailor Mars power," Rei answered.

"I didn't know that," Serena exclaimed. "Then why is it `Mars Fireball Charge' if it's not a Mars attack?"

"Well, it does have Mars power behind it when I use it like that, but I can use it without the Mars power. It won't be as strong, but it should still work," Rei replied confidently.

"Mina and I are going to be asking people if they've felt drained more than they thought they should have been, and if so, check out the places where it happened," Lita said.

Serena and Reenie both smiled to see them back working with the team again. "We can do that too," Serena put in.

"No," Mina answered, "you're going to be needed to fight. Now that there are only four people who can really fight the youmas, you need to be getting ready for that instead of walking around town doing something that might not get any results."

"Are you sure?" Darien asked. "We can at least help ask around."

"No, that's okay," Lita said quickly, "We can do it."

"If you're sure?" Darien still sounded doubtful.

"They are," Travis said firmly.

Darien suddenly realized that this was practically the only thing they could do, they didn't want help because it gave them a feeling of doing something. "Okay," he said decisively. "Then that's how we'll do it."

"Luna, Artemis, Apollo," Reenie asked, "What are you going to do?"

"We're going to be checking out some leads of our own, and helping to correlate the data you bring in," Luna replied.

"I need to check and see what my uncle's been doing," Travis said. "With the number of fights we've been in lately, I'm really surprised we haven't heard from him."

"Reenie? Do you have any plans for this afternoon?" Serena asked.

"No," she said, "I just want to hang around you." *I had planned on going to Mika's this afternoon, but if something else happens, I'd have no way to know. I've got to be better next time. I can't let the future be changed!*

Serena smiled. "That's fine with me."

Travis walked in the house to see his uncle sitting morosely on the couch. "Uncle Jake? What's the matter?" Travis asked immediately.

"I think all chances for my story just went down the drain," Jake told his ward. "Look at these!" He threw over a group of photographs.

A quick glance showed Travis they were from one of their fights earlier in the week. Still the only way he could tell was by recognizing the youma, where the Scouts should be, there were just blurs. *So the magic does work on cameras!* Travis exulted, *There goes that worry.* "You've got some nice pictures of a monster here," he remarked.

"I didn't want pictures of the monster, I wanted pictures of the Sailor Scouts! They were there, but they don't show up on the pictures. That's simply not possible."

"Is it possible, for a youma such as this to exist?" Travis asked, pointing to the picture of a human shaped youma with red skin and long tusks. "It's magic, Uncle Jake, and I don't think you'll be able to get a real picture of them."

"There's no such thing as magic, Travis, you should know that," Jake replied.

Travis raised one eyebrow. "Then how do you explain this?" he asked, pointing to the picture he still held.

"I don't know, but I'll find out when I ask them. The next time I see them fight, I'm going to go right up and ask them."

"Do you think that's smart?" Travis asked worriedly.

"The public has a right to know," Jake told him. "Besides, they've never been known to hurt a civilian, so I'm sure it will be fine."

"Just, be sure not to get to close to the fight, okay Uncle Jake? I'd hate to have to break in a new guardian already."

Jake knew that Travis' flippant remarks covered a very real fear, not only of losing him, but of having to go back into a place he wasn't wanted. "Don't worry, Travis, I've been doing this for a long time, I'll be careful. Besides, I've already set it up, if something happens to me, the Tsukino's get legal custody of you."

Travis stared at him for a long moment, "Thanks Uncle Jake," he slowly smiled, "but I would much prefer it if you didn't do things that might make it necessary."

"Look, to make sure that I don't do anything dangerous, why don't you come with me to the next fight? That way you can see for yourself how safe it is," Jake asked.

"What?" Travis said, "I don't think so, thanks. This," he held up the picture, "is as close as I care to come. I'll leave it to the Scouts if you don't mind."

"Okay, but it should be fun," Jake wheedled.

"I've seen a couple of the fights, and been way too close to some others. I think I'll sit it out." *Well actually that's not entirely true,* he thought to himself, *but he doesn't know exactly how close I get to these fights.*

"Do you want to go to a ballgame this afternoon?" Jake asked, putting the photographs up. "I was able to get tickets."

Travis' eyes lit up. "I would love to," he said immediately, jumping to his feet. "I've never been to a baseball game before. When is it?"

"This afternoon at five, so be sure you're home by four." Jake grinned at how excited Travis was by the offer. His grin faded as he suddenly realized what Travis had said. He was probably the only person who had ever offered to take Travis somewhere like that.

"I'll be here, don't worry," Travis replied.

That afternoon, Travis excitedly got ready to go to the baseball game. He looked at the cameras Jake had packed to go with them. "You don't really think the Scouts are going to show up at the baseball field do you?" he asked.

"No, I don't, but I like to be prepared," Jake replied, taking out a baseball cap and putting it on Travis' head. "There, now you're ready to go to the game."

"Cool, thanks Uncle Jake," Travis grinned and raced out of the house.

Jake looked after him with an almost dejected expression. *How could I have ignored what he needed for so long?* His expression became angry. *And how could he have turned out so well with parents like his? Never even been to a baseball game.*

Travis and Jake settled down in their seats to watch the game. Travis was really getting into it, yelling whenever someone from their team got a hit or a run, joining in the wave, and singing with the rest of the crowd. About halfway through the game he found himself yawning slightly. He frowned. *I know we had a fight this morning, and I've really been getting into this game, but I shouldn't be this tired, not yet.*

"I need to go to the bathroom," he told his uncle. As his uncle nodded absently, Travis walked off. He quickly found a secluded place and called the others. "I'm at the baseball stadium, I think someone's draining people here, but I'm not positive. Better come anyway."

"On our way," came clearly through the communicator in his sister's voice.

Travis went back to his seat, but couldn't get as into the game as before. He kept looking around, trying to see if others were feeling what he was. More and more he became convinced that their energy was being drained, as even the baseball players started playing a little worse.

Outside, Serena, Reenie, Darien, and Amy were meeting.

"There's definitely something there," Amy said, scanning with her computer. "I would say, in the press box."

"I don't think they're going to let us in there very easily," Serena muttered, looking at the guards at the front gates.

Travis had his hands clasped behind his head, the one with the watch resting almost next to his ear, so he easily heard the plan Darien related to him. "Uncle Jake, I'm going to go get something to eat, okay?" he asked, getting up. After his guardian gave him a couple of dollars, he headed to a secluded place.

Once there, he raised his pendant into the air. "SUN STONE POWER!" he called. Bright light started shining from deep inside, flashing outward. When the light cleared, Sailor Sol stood there, pointing his sword upwards. He quickly sheathed the Sun Sword before heading up to the press box.

He opened the door. "Hey you can't come in here!" One of the newscasters started to yell before stopping and staring at the intruder. Never before had he really seen a Sailor Scout, or even truly believed in them.

Sailor Sol's eyes passed over the dumbfounded newscasters and technical personnel. One of them stood up, and as the others watched, started to change. "So you found me," she said lightly, "I honestly didn't think you'd be able to, but at least now I get to have some fun."

She opened her mouth and started to speak. Her voice was a high squealing sound as it came out, and Sailor Sol and the other humans clapped their hands over their ears. Sailor Sol started to feel disoriented as the sound went on and could tell the other humans were having an even worse time. Keeping in mind the plan, he shouted out, "Evacuate this place, now!" at the others and rushed the youma. He

tackled her through the window, making sure she landed first on the bleachers, and then the ground after they bounced.

Fans started to scream as they saw the youma, then the announcement came over the loudspeakers. "Please leave the stadium in an orderly fashion. There is no reason to panic, but please try to leave quietly. If you have family or friends at the food counters or bathrooms, do not try to find them now, they will be waiting for you outside."

Darien Jacobson was torn between going out and making sure Travis was alright and getting shots of the fight. Looking at the people pressing through the exits, he realized there was no way he would be able to get to Travis. He knew Travis was sensible enough to get out of the building and wait for him. He got busy finding a place to take his shots from, hoping that this time they would work a little better.

Outside, Serena, Reenie, and Darien had already transformed and were waiting for the guards to be distracted. The screams from inside the arena soon did that and the three jumped quickly through the gate without being seen.

They raced past the panicked fans and baseball players to find Sailor Sol on the defensive in the middle of the field. The youma's voice was disorienting, and Sol was finding it difficult to concentrate enough to do any damage. "SOLAR FL... AHH!" he called, the last part being interrupted because of the increased sonic waves being sent at him.

"Baseball games are a place for people to have fun, not get their energy drained. For ruining these people's good times, I will punish you! I am Sailor Moon," a voice said from third base.

"And I am Sailor Crescent Moon, Champion of Justice," came from the small figure beside her.

They started speaking together, "And in the..."

"SUN SWORD SLASH!" Sailor Sol called before they could even finish their speeches, using the respite they had given him to attack the youma.

The youma quickly jumped back, and only the tip of the flaming sword slashed across her ribs. She turned her voice up high once more. Sailor Sol backed up from the noise again.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" "CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!" flew across the empty space. Unfortunately, because they stood so far away to be out of the range of the youma's sonic blasts, they were also too far away for their tiaras to do much damage. Glaring at Sailor Sol for ruining their speech, they moved closer.

The youma's eyes focused on Sailor Moon. `This' was the one she had been ordered to keep still for a few minutes. Her voice rose ever higher as she moved towards her goal.

"CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!" Crescent Moon screamed out, suddenly running towards the youma.

"Crescent Moon! Be careful!" Sailor Moon called out.

"I'm not going to let the future be changed!" Crescent Moon shouted back, as she raced towards the youma. She gathered her power in her hands and held it for as long as she could before shooting it out. It hit the youma in the side and she squealed in anger, causing the five left in the stadium to cover their ears in pain. Jake watched in horror as the squeal shattered one of his camera lenses.

The youma turned towards Crescent Moon, and this time the sounds coming out of her mouth were much more than disorienting. The sonic waves were visible as they moved towards the young Scout. Sailor Moon threw herself at Crescent Moon, tackling her out of the way even as a rose buried itself in front of the youma.

"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon cried out in relief. He was standing on top of one of the stadium lights.

"Sounds should be sweet, such as music, or as voices, but never hurt," he said as he jumped downward, landing easily by Sailor Sol.

The youma opened her mouth once more pointing at Sailor Sol and Tuxedo Mask. They got ready for a blast as they readied their own weapons. Suddenly, she turned around and sent her sounds at Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon had gone so close in her efforts to save Crescent Moon, that the nearby sounds disrupted her nervous system. The others shouted as Sailor Moon was knocked unconscious. The youma watched closely, and Spessarite watched through her eyes, knowing Dimenso would be taking

this opportunity to steal Sailor Moon's power stick. He also wanted to see what she looked like when she was detransformed. That information would be invaluable.

"Sailor Moon!" came the shout from the others as they rushed towards the youma. Still under Spessarite's guidance, she was still looking at the still Scout. Tuxedo Mask's roses turned her around quickly.

"SOLAR FLARE!" "CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!" flew after, impacting on the distracted youma.

Sailor Moon had regained consciousness and was slowly climbing to her feet, but fell again, unable to keep her balance in the vertigo left over from the attack. Not that the others really seemed to care. "CRESCENT MOON TIARA MAGIC!" was combined with "SOLAR FLARE!" into a burning disc. The sun's flames also covered the roses heading towards the youma and set them burning. The two impacted the youma, sending it reeling, and finally its voice stopped.

Sailor Moon, still sitting on the ground, pulled out her scepter. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" she called, turning the youma into dust.

"What!" Spessarite screamed. "What happened? We have her pen, why didn't she detransform? QUARTZ!"

"Yes?" she asked with seeming meekness, coming into the room.

"Why didn't it work?" Spessarite was almost steaming from anger and Quartz carefully hid her sigh of relief as she looked at the pen in front of him.

"This doesn't look like the others, maybe it's not a power stick, but something else," Quartz answered carefully. "After all, in that scene we have, she doesn't hold up a stick like the others do. But the others didn't show up, did they?" she asked quickly, hoping to distract him before he could take out his anger on her. It worked.

"No, they didn't. So we are down to three Scouts, we will wear them down soon enough... soon enough," Spessarite chuckled. "Until then, figure out what this does."

"Can I see my father?" Quartz asked. The only way she knew he was even still alive was because several of the servants, who much preferred the way they had been treated before Spessarite came, told her so.

"Maybe, if you figure out how to use that and the other pens, I will let you spend a moment or so in his company," was Spessarite's response.

Sailor Moon slowly rose to her feet. Tuxedo Mask quickly moved to her side and helped her get up. She shook her head to clear it, and then looked up at a sound from the bleachers. "Get out of here, Sailor Sol," she said quietly.

He turned around and noticed his guardian coming down the steps toward them. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine, now get out of here," she whispered back.

"Are you sure you're alright, Mommy?" Crescent Moon asked in a worried voice.

Sailor Moon turned to her, her eyes very serious. "I'm fine, but we are going to have a long talk about what you did when we get home."

"But I had to try to keep the future from changing," Crescent Moon explained.

"When we get home," was all Sailor Moon said.

"Let's get out of here," Tuxedo Mask said as Darien Jacobson got closer.

"Hold on!" Jake called out as the Moons and Tuxedo Mask turned to go, Sailor Sol having already left. "Please, just a couple of questions." It didn't look like they were going to stop, so he hurried to get all his questions in, hoping one of them would maybe startle an answer out of the Scouts. "Who are you? Why do you fight? Where are the rest of the Scouts? Who sends those monsters? Why don't you show up on cameras? Don't you think that little girl is a little young to be in such dangerous situations?"

`That' got a reaction. Crescent Moon turned angrily. "I am not!"

Sailor Moon grabbed hold of her arm and got ready to jump away.

"Is it true that you two are an item?" he said of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. "And if so, isn't she a little young for you?"

This time it was Sailor Moon who turned. "I am not!" was her heated response.

"Excuse me," Tuxedo Mask intervened, "But we're not making statements, and I think you'll find your pictures didn't come out either. If you want a story, you need to look elsewhere." With that the three finally left.

Sailor Moon was steaming. "I can't believe Uncle Jake asked those kinds of things!" she exclaimed when they were alone.

"He didn't know who you were," Tuxedo Mask reminded her.

"So?" was Sailor Moon's response. "That last wasn't nice at all!"

"Well," Darien responded after he had detransformed, "he's asked it of us, why shouldn't he ask it of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon? You know I don't think you're too young for me. Does what anyone else think really matter?"

"I suppose not, Muffin," Serena snuggled up to him for a few seconds.

"Are you two going to kiss?" Reenie asked, interested.

They broke apart immediately and Serena remembered that she was mad at the little girl. "Come on, Reenie, I want to have a talk with you."

As the two girls walked home, Serena found herself going over what Reenie had done, putting herself in danger like that. She just got madder, until by the time they got home, she was furious. Luckily, Sammy was at a friend's house, and her parents had gone out to dinner. Luna and Diana were the only ones waiting when they got home.

"Why are you so mad?" Reenie asked. She hadn't been able to get a word out of her mother the whole way home.

"Why am I so mad?" Serena asked in disbelief. "You threw yourself into danger, put the rest of us in danger, and you wonder why I'm mad? I almost lost you there!"

"But I had to!" Reenie replied.

"No, you didn't `have' to. There was no reason for you to get that close before attacking. You weren't thinking." Serena's voice was hard.

"As if that's something that you've never done!" Reenie replied without thinking.

"You're right, I have," Serena agreed. "Which is why I know exactly how dangerous it is. Maybe too dangerous for you."

"But I've got to change the future back!" Reenie was getting angry herself.

"Not by putting yourself in danger," Serena disagreed. "Not like that. Let's get one thing straight Reenie, Uncle Jake was right. What we do is too dangerous for someone your age. I've let you fight because you've shown you can handle it, but you didn't show me that tonight. I am not going to risk having my only daughter hurt in one of these fights."

"What do you mean?" Reenie was getting worried.

"I mean, I'm starting to have second thoughts about you fighting. There are only four of us able to at the moment, we've got to be able to trust each other to keep each other safe. Going in like that is a good way to get yourself hurt, or one of us hurt saving you and I'm not going to have it."

"But... but..." Reenie started.

"I mean," Serena said over her, "if you ever do anything that stupid again, you're out. It's that simple. I won't duo with you, and neither will anyone else. If I ever see you do something that reckless again, I'll... I'll... I'll ground you for a month and not let you fight."

"You can't do that!"

"I can, and I will." Serena's face was serious. "I'm not going to have you hurt."

"But, the future?" Reenie exclaimed.

"Isn't as important at the moment as you are," Serena said quietly. "Do you think I want any future where I know you'll die before your eighth birthday?" She looked longer at Reenie. "You still don't understand, do you? You don't know why I'm so angry."

Reenie shook her head slightly.

"Go to your room and think about it, I'm sure it will come to you."

Reenie stared, surprised. Serena was ordering her to her room? "You can't..."

"Small Lady, go to your room," Serena ordered.

"Yes, Mother," Reenie said angrily, stomping upstairs.

"What happened?" Luna asked.

"What did Reenie do?" Diana chimed in.

Serena lost her serious look and her face screwed up. "I had to ground my own daughter!" she wailed, "What did it look like?"

"Why?" Luna asked, "What happened at the fight?"

"Oh, that," Serena replied.

As Serena was having her talk with Reenie, two girls were meeting at one of their houses.

"Even in this we couldn't do any good," Lita exclaimed. "Travis had to be the one to find the youma."

"Reenie and Serena are wrong," Mina agreed, sighing. "We are useless."

"What are we going to do?" Lita looked at Mina.

Mina just shrugged in despair.

O-kay. There's the end of another one, and it's not really even a cliffhanger, well, not like some of the ones I've done.


	8. Chapter 7

Hi Everyone!

Um... Standard disclaimers apply, of course. Like there was ever any doubt about that. This chapter is dedicated to my editor and friend Will Wolfshohl, who's one of my main inspirations, and seems to be feeling unappreciated, which he is not, because I appreciate him a lot!

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 7 Mothers

Serena was about to start telling the cats what had happened during the fight that day, when Luna cocked her head and raised her paw. "Your parents are home," she said quietly, "This will have to wait for a few minutes."

Serena nodded. "I'd like to talk to Mom about it anyway," she murmured.

Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino walked in to find their daughter sitting on the living room couch watching TV. "Hello dear," Mr. Tsukino said, "Did everything go alright while we were gone?"

"Everything was fine, Dad," Serena answered smiling up at him. "Hey Mom, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course dear, what's the matter?" A flash of worry crossed her face as she thought of all the things that might have happened, then it smoothed out again as a look at her daughter convinced her she, at

least, was fine.

"Alone," Serena said, getting up. "Girl talk, Dad. You don't mind, do you?"

"Is it about that boy?" he growled.

"No Dad, it's not about Darien," Serena said. "I thought you had gotten over that?"

"Just because I'm not going to try to break you up, doesn't mean I like him," was her father's answer.

"Don't worry, Dad, you'll get used to him," Serena grinned.

"Do I want to?" she heard him mutter as she led her mother upstairs and into her parents' bedroom. Luna and Diana followed.

"What's the matter?" her mother asked immediately as she closed the door. "Is something the matter with Reenie?"

"No, not really," Serena sighed. "Let me tell it to you in order, okay?" Serena launches into an explanation of the events of the day. "She made me so mad, Mom! And scared. Jumping in like that... What if she'd gotten hurt, or... killed? She's so little and... and she's my daughter, I love her. And I'm so worried about her. Do you know what I mean? And now there's only four of us. I really can't keep her from fighting. It would cut our strength down too much. But if I let her fight, and take a chance that she will get hurt... I don't know what to do." Serena sighed as she finally ran down. She looked up to see her mother looking at her with a very understanding look on her face.

"You're very proud of her for fighting, but you're very worried about her too, and you'd like nothing better than to forbid her from ever going near a youma again, but you know you don't have the right?" her mother asked softly.

"That's right! That's exactly it. It's her future too, and she needs to fight. It's probably even her destiny." Serena flopped down on the bed with a sigh. "But I'm her mother. I'm supposed to keep her safe," she continued.

"But to really keep her safe, you would have to keep her locked away, forbid her to do anything," Mrs. Tsukino murmured.

"And I can't do that, I can't hurt her like that," Serena said in a mournful voice. She looked at her mother. "How did you know all that?" she asked. Her eyes went wider. "Is this how you feel when I fight? So scared?"

"And so proud," her mother added. "My little girl, out protecting the world."

"How do you stand it?" Serena asked intently.

"What else can I do?" was her mother's answer. "I can't keep you from fighting. It wouldn't be right. No matter how much I want to wrap you up and keep you safe."

Serena went over to her and hugged her tightly, a hug that was returned in full measure. "In a way, I wish you'd never seen me transform. I don't want you to have to feel so scared. I wish I could take that away."

"I don't," Ellen Tsukino replied. "I do worry more about you, but I can't bear the thought of you in danger and me not knowing. I just have to trust you as much as you trusted me in telling me."

"I'm glad I did," Serena sighed. "I love having someone to talk to like this."

Luna cleared her throat. Serena turned to grin at her. "Don't look at me like that, Luna. I know I can always talk to you, but it's not quite the same thing."

"I suppose not," Luna agreed.

Serena regretfully pulled herself from her mother's arms. "I suppose I'd better go apologize to Reenie," she said.

"Don't," Mrs. Tsukino told her.

"Don't? Why not? I mean, I was harder on her than I'd planned on being." Serena was surprised at her mother saying that.

"Did you mean what you said about not letting her duo if she did something like that again?"

"Yes, I did," Serena said seriously. "I'm not going to risk her life, or the lives of the others because she did something stupid, though honestly, I've done worse," she finished almost in a whisper.

Mrs. Tsukino pretended like she hadn't heard that part. "If you go in there now, apologizing for what you said, and letting her out of her punishment, she'll never believe you'll actually keep your word about not letting her fight."

"But..."

"Trust me on this one, Serena. This is a place where I have experience."

"Well, what about that time I got a thirty and you said you wouldn't let me back in the house until I'd studied but you did anyway," Serena reminded her.

"Yes, but that was only because your wailing would have disturbed the entire neighborhood if I hadn't," she chuckled. "But you didn't do your homework when you came in either, did you? Maybe if I had kept you locked out, you would have."

"It's not extremely likely," Luna muttered.

"Luna, you've been awfully quiet this whole time, is something the matter?" Serena asked. Indeed, Luna and Diana had just sat and watched the whole time.

"I just didn't want to disturb your heart to heart," Luna replied. "Now, about this youma you fought tonight. You say she knocked you out and then just looked at you for a couple of seconds?"

"That's right," Serena answered. "As if she was expecting me to do something or something."

"Maybe to detransform?" Luna asked. "If they didn't know you carry you're transformation brooch on your uniform, they might have thought it was in your Lunar Space Pocket and tried to steal it from there."

Serena nodded thoughtfully, "That would explain why she just let me lie there, and didn't attack even when I'd been knocked unconscious," she agreed. "But they couldn't have stolen my brooch from there, so everything's fine, right?"

"What if they stole the Scepter?" Luna asked.

Serena's eyes went wide and she quickly made that flickering gesture behind her back. Her hand came out with the Moon Scepter. "No, it's okay," she sighed in relief.

"Do you have anything else in there that might have been taken?" Luna asked thoughtfully.

Unexplainedly Serena blushed. "No, no, I don't have anything else in there that a youma would want," she replied quickly.

"Serena?" Luna and Mrs. Tsukino said in exactly the same tone of voice, recognizing Serena's attempts at avoiding the question. "Empty it out," Luna said resignedly.

"Um... well, you see... uh, yeah..." Serena replied. She slowly reached behind her again, and brought out... a comic book.

"Oh Serena," Luna sighed, "You know you're not supposed to use your personal pocket space for things like that!"

"Hold on Luna," Mrs. Tsukino said. "She was acting too guilty to be hiding just a comic book."

Serena shot a look at her mother, before sighing and bringing out a bag of candy. This was followed by some tokens from the arcade, a crescent moon necklace and earrings, a picture of Darien, another comic book, a Sailor Moon T-shirt, a stuffed rabbit, and a coupon for a free ice cream. By this time, Luna was sunk down on the bed with her paws over her eyes. "Oh Serena," she groaned.

"Well, it's just that I didn't want to lose this stuff," she defended herself. "Or I didn't have anywhere else to put it."

"Serena! How many times do I have to tell you?" Luna was almost shouting. "Your Pocket Space, like the Disguise Pen, is not for personal use!"

"What's a disguise pen?" Diana broke in and asked.

Serena seemed happy to answer that question. "Well, Diana, it's a special pen that..." she looked over the crowded bed as she finished absently, "lets me disguise myself as someone else." She made the flickering gesture again, but this time her hand came out empty. "Has anybody seen it?"

"What does it look like?" Mrs. Tsukino asked, looking over the pile of stuff on her bed.

"It looks like a pen with a red crystal on top," Serena said, throwing things off the bed to try to find it. Finally they were convinced that it was gone.

"So," Luna said. "They thought that was your transformation wand and took it."

"Well, that's not so bad, is it? I mean, I hardly ever use it unless I'm pretending to be old enough to get into some movies on my... umm, never mind. I mean, I hardly ever use it. That's all."

Luna glared at her for a long moment. "We will continue this conversation later," she warned.

"Yeah, Luna, that's fine, later," Serena agreed, quickly picking up all her things and stuffing them back into the space pocket.

She gave her mother a last hug and raced out of the room as her mother started saying, "What movies?"

Serena's guilty look increased as she stood outside her door. She slowly opened it to see Reenie lying down holding the fixed Mi'a doll almost desperately.

Reenie looked up as she heard the door open. Serena could see she had been crying, and it was all she could do not to tell her that she could leave and they would go out somewhere.

"I'm going over to Lita's for dinner," she said instead. "Mom'll make you something if you're hungry."

"I'm sorry, Serena," Reenie whispered.

"I know you are, Reenie," Serena answered, sitting down next to her. "But it doesn't change the fact that what you did was extremely dangerous, and very reckless."

"But, how do I change the future, if I can't do anything?" Reenie cried.

"I didn't say you couldn't do anything," Serena answered. "I'm not stopping you from fighting, not yet anyway. But you can't take chances like that. Think of it this way, Reenie. If you die trying to change the future, then you won't be here at a later time when you can change it."

"Huh?" Reenie asked.

"Think about it," Serena answered, going out the door.

Serena walked down the street, headed for Lita's. She knew she was taking a chance, Lita had not invited her, and didn't know she was coming. Still, Lita had been upset, and when she was upset, she usually cooked.

As Serena got closer she could tell she was right. The odor coming from Lita's apartment was enough to make her drool. Serena took a deep breath, and then another as the smells tantalized her. She walked up and rang the doorbell.

Mina opened the door and seemed surprised to see Serena standing there. "Hi Serena, what are you doing here?"

"Hi Mina, I just thought that maybe Lita wouldn't mind a dinner guest," Serena said. "Please, please," she muttered as the smells were wafted to her again causing her stomach to growl noisily.

Mina laughed. "You and your stomach," she grinned. "Come on in, I'll tell Lita you're here."

Serena followed her into the room and Mina walked into the kitchen.

"Who was at the door?" Lita asked.

"Serena," Mina said. "I guess she came to try to cheer you up."

"Well, that, and I kind of figured she'd be cooking, and my parents went out to eat and Reenie's grounded," Serena put in from the kitchen door. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked Lita.

"No, I don't," Lita replied. "I guess I did kind of make enough for three people." She looked around at all the food she had cooked simply because she needed something to do. Looking at Serena's wide eyes, she knew the food would be appreciated by at least one of her guests.

"Reenie's grounded?" Mina asked. "How did that happen?"

"I was very, very angry at something she did in the last fight, so I told her to stay in her room tonight and if she ever did it again, I would stop duoing with her and ground her for a month," Serena said it almost absently as she started carrying plates of food out to the dining room table.

"`You' grounded her?" the other two chorused.

"I would have let her out of it, but Mom told me not to. Since she's had more experience, I decided to do what she said." Serena's mind still seemed to be more on the food than the conversation, and as soon as all the food was out and they had sat down, she started piling her plate.

"You really do think of yourself as her mother, don't you?" Lita asked.

Serena didn't bother swallowing before she started talking. "It's not so much that, though it is that too of course, it's more... I don't quite know how to explain it," she finished.

She put her fork down, and placed her chin on her clasped hands as she stared into space, thinking about it. Mina started giggling as she sat there, because her face was going through contortions as she thought her way through it. She suddenly looked up to find Lita and Mina staring at her with their hands clasped under their chins.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"Oh, nothing," Lita said. "So? Did you figure it out?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I think so. I'm her mother when she needs me to be." Serena told them before turning back to the food she'd ignored for the last several minutes.

"Which means...?" Mina asked.

"That when she doesn't need me to be a mother, I'm more like an older sister." Serena shrugged. "But I didn't come here to talk about my relationship with Reenie, you know."

"No, you came here to eat," Lita told her.

Serena looked down at her full plate, then around at all the platters and bowls on the table. "True," she grinned. She got serious. "You know, they tried for my transformation pen today, if I had one instead of my brooch, I would be in the same spot you are."

"No you wouldn't," Lita disagreed. "If they took your brooch, you would have duoed with Travis as Sailor Sun."

Serena stopped with her fork halfway up to her mouth. "You know, you're right, I hadn't thought of that. Still, I can imagine what it would be like to be seemingly powerless."

"Seemingly powerless?" Mina asked in disbelief. "We are powerless! We can't fight without our powers, we would get killed."

"And that idea about us trying to find the place where people were getting drained was a bust; Travis managed to find it first," Lita continued.

"That was just a fluke, and you know it," Serena said, putting down her fork. "Travis just happened to be at that game."

"Well, his `just happened to be there' worked a lot better than our `let's check out every place where it could happen'," Lita said sarcastically.

"You've been trying for less than half a day," Serena reminded her. "You couldn't expect it to work that fast."

"Look, it's just not going to happen," Mina sighed.

"What is the matter with the two of you?" Serena asked, annoyed. "Did that youma do something besides take your pens? This isn't like you at all! Whether you have your pens or not, you're still Sailor Scouts, you're still the Princesses of your planets, and you're still my guardians and my Court!" By now, Serena was almost shouting, "You might have given up on yourselves, but I am not going to give up on you, so you can forget it. So you can't use your powers right now! So what? Deal with it." Serena got up and stomped out of the apartment without even finishing her dinner.

Mina and Lita stared after her in complete and utter shock. Neither of them spoke until after they heard the front door slam shut.

"Whoa," Mina said. "That was way harsh."

"Probably deserved though," Lita answered her. "She's right, after all. We're Sailor Scouts, we can beat anything, remember?"

"Yeah," Mina agreed. "Anything!"

Both of them were standing up, looking at each other in determination. "We'll get our pens back, or they'll get them for us, but we will get them back. And when we do..."

"The bad guys had better watch out!" Mina added. "And the Negaverse will wish they had never decided to mess with us!"

"Yeah!" they both shouted.

"Come on, let's catch up with Serena and tell her we're sorry," Lita said. "She never even got to finish eating after all."

Serena hadn't gone far. She had reached the door to the apartment building when she realized how hard she'd been on them. She stood there for a moment or two, regretting what she'd said, and the food that she had left behind. She was about to go back up and apologize when she saw someone out on the street.

"Hi Travis, hey Crystal," she grinned. "Another `study' date?"

"Serena," Travis almost glared at her, though there was humor mixed in. "Remind me, the next time you go out with Darien, to find a table in the same restaurant and heckle you the whole time."

"But Travis," Serena mock whined, "I just asked a question."

"No, we're not on a study date, we're on a real date," Crystal answered impatiently. She expected a sarcastic reply from Serena.

"Cool," Serena replied. "About time."

Travis blinked, surprised.

"Well, it is," she shrugged. "It's the first time I've seen you really interested in a girl since you came. I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with you," she grinned.

"Let me assure you, there's nothing wrong with him, he was just waiting for a girl of quality," Crystal remarked, grabbing hold of Travis' arm.

"Then I guess I can say it, can't I?" Serena grinned.

Travis didn't know what she was up to, but had the feeling he wouldn't much care for it, so he shook his head. It was too late.

"Travis and Crystal sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Serena started to sing, badly.

Crystal clenched her hands into fists and seemed about to go after the girl when Travis stopped her.

"Fair one," he said, causing Serena to stop abruptly. "It doth wound me most severely to hear thee mock my heart this way. Canst it be that thou dost not care for my sensitivities or those of my fair companion?"

"Okay! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Serena said, backing away. She turned as she heard her name called and smiled as she saw it was Lita and Mina who were calling for her. "I've got to go," she said, running over to them.

Crystal looked after her. "I don't understand what just went on," she said. "And... why haven't you ever talked that way to me?"

Travis grinned and tucked his arm through hers to lead her away. "Come on," he said, "I'm hungry and I'll explain it while we eat."

As they walked away, they heard a burst of laughter behind them, then all three girls started chanting, "Travis and Crystal, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage..."

"Then comes Serena in a baby carriage!" Travis turned around and yelled back. "Sister dearest," Travis muttered to himself, "the next time thou dost go on a date with thy paramour, prepare thyself for trouble."

Crystal waited until they were out of sight of the girls before stopping and pulling Travis to a stop. "What was that all about?" she asked.

"What?" he asked, surprised. "It was just teasing."

"No, that Middle English you were using. Isn't it supposed to be a romantic language used by poets to talk about their girlfriends?" Crystal hinted.

"Maybe originally," Travis conceded, "but I just use it because it bugs my sister. For some reason or other, she really doesn't much care for it, so I use it to tease her."

Crystal stared at him for a long moment. "You can be so dense," she said. "Come on, let's go eat."

"Wait, what did I do?" Travis asked, running after her.

*_He even has a special way of talking to her! I mean, I know she's his sister, but why does he have to be so involved with her all the time?_* Crystal sighed quietly. *_Well, at least he's all mine for the rest of the night.*_

Serena, Lita, and Mina had decided to go to the amusement park after dinner. As Lita put it, "The world doesn't need saving, and we need to get our minds off of this morning, so let's go have some fun!"

Mina agreed, "There's already been two fights today. There's no way they'll have another youma out."

"I wish Reenie could come with us," Serena said as they walked in through the gates. "She would have enjoyed this."

"We could go pick her up," Lita said.

"No, Mom said I wasn't supposed to do that, if I grounded her for a good reason, she should stay grounded. And it's only for one night." *_I'm sorry Reenie. I promise we'll do something fun together tomorrow._* Her thoughts fled as she saw something in front of her. "Cotton candy!" she cried, running over there. "I love cotton candy! One please," she told the booth attendant.

"Serena! How can you eat after that big dinner?" Lita said in shock.

"Because her stomach doesn't have a bottom, and her mind doesn't know when it should quit," a sarcastic voice said from behind them.

"Hi Raye," Mina said, turning around. "We didn't know you'd be here."

"The temple's clean, and Chad decided he needed to practice his singing. I decided I needed a night out," Raye replied, smiling at her.

"What? You decided to leave instead of bashing him? You must be going soft on him," Serena smiled with her mouth covered in pink candy. "I knew he'd wear you down eventually."

"I am not going soft on him!" Raye argued back. "I just decided to wait and bash him when I get back!"

"You like him," Serena responded.

"Will you stop that! You're being a real pain, Serena," Raye said.

Serena stuck her tongue out.

"I want to go on the roller coaster," Lita said, pointing to it. "Let's go!"

"Kind of scary, don't you think?" Serena said, looking at it.

"Don't be such a baby," Raye said.

"I am not a baby!" Serena snapped back. "I just don't like roller coasters."

"Oh come on, Serena, it'll be fun," Mina told her, pulling her along.

Serena listened to the people screaming as they went down another hill. "How can you call that fun?" she gulped.

"Come on," Lita said, getting in line. Serena reluctantly allowed herself to be added to the line, and even more reluctantly got on the ride.

Five minutes later, the ride jolted to a stop. "Ooohh," Serena moaned clutching her stomach. "I wish I hadn't had that extra slice of pie at Lita's."

"I always said your stomach would get you into trouble," Raye grinned. A yawn from Mina interrupted them.

"Today must have been more tiring then I thought," said Mina, covering another yawn.

"Yeah," Lita agreed, finding Mina's yawning contagious.

"I don't think it's just us," Raye said, looking around. "I'm sensing evil vibes around here."

"Mina," Serena whined, "you said we wouldn't have to fight a third time today."

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Mina said.

Raye was looking around quickly using her senses to their fullest. "There," she said, pointing unobtrusively to the ride's operator, a seemingly normal human.

"Call the others," Serena told Lita, looking around for a secluded place to transform. The three other girls covered the entrance to the small tent she stood in as she raised her hand in the air. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" she called, just barely remembering not to add `duo' at the end.

"Reenie doesn't have a communicator, does she?" Lita asked, having already called the others.

"No, she doesn't," Sailor Moon said. "There's no time for anyone to go pick her up either, she's just going to have to sit this one out. Besides, she's grounded, remember?"

"Can you do it with just three of you?" Raye asked worriedly.

"I sure hope so," Sailor Moon answered. She started to leave the tent and head toward the disguised youma.

"Wait," Mina told her. "Wait until the roller coaster comes back down, we don't want people stuck up there."

"Good thinking, Mina," Sailor Moon said. "Please stay out of the way," she asked the other three.

In a cafe, Travis and Crystal were sitting and talking easily with each other. Crystal was still laughing at one of Travis' jokes when his watch beeped.

Travis instantly sobered and looked at it. "I'm sorry, Crystal," he said sincerely. "I've got to go."

"It's something to do with Serena, isn't it?" she asked, her good humor gone in a second. His expression confirmed it.

He started to make an excuse, but her expression was speaking too. It was obvious she didn't want to hear it. He stood there for a moment, undecided, then it beeped again. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay Crystal?"

She didn't answer, and he walked slowly out the door.

"Oh, I could hate that Serena," she muttered to herself. "Why couldn't I have had him to myself for just one night?"

Travis looked back at her sitting alone before finding a deserted place to transform.

As the roller coaster came to a stop and the people stepped out, Sailor Moon stepped out of the tent. "Hold it Negatrash!" she called. All around her people turned to stare.

"It must be that new attraction I heard about," one person in the crowd whispered to another. "It's very well done, that really looks like the descriptions of Sailor Moon."

"Yeah, but against a human? That doesn't fit the script," another answered. "Probably she started a little early, and the one she's supposed to be fighting hasn't gotten here yet."

"Well, whichever, I'm not going to miss this, I just hope the special effects are as good as the costume," a third person said. The others around him seemed to agree.

The seeming human looked up. "Sailor Moon," he said softly. "How nice to see you." The people around stared in awe as his shape shifted into a youma with wheels for feet.

"How realistic," they whispered, "How did they manage that?"

The youma skated towards the single Scout, and she started backing away nervously. Suddenly a rail blasted towards Sailor Moon. She jumped upwards, managing to get out of the way in time, but the rail clipped her foot, throwing her off balance. The youma raced towards her as she landed on her bottom.

"We've got to do something," Lita muttered, under the cover of the yelling crowd.

"But what?" Mina asked, worriedly.

Raye stepped forward, pulling out one of her anti-evil charms. She started chanting under her breath then threw it at the monster's unprotected back. "Evil Begone!" she called as the charm adhered to the youma. The paralysis didn't last long, but it was enough time for Sailor Moon to get back on her feet.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she yelled, throwing her tiara at the youma. Her eyes grew wide in horror as she yelled out, "STOP!" The tiara stopped just inches from the face of one of the fair goers who had decided to get a close up picture of the show.

Lita dove through the crowd and pushed the sightseer roughly out of the way. "Hey!" he yelled, incensed. "I'm going to tell the management on you."

"Don't you get it yet?" she yelled back. "This isn't a show!"

Sailor Moon was still panting in relief over not having hit the innocent and didn't notice the youma gearing up for another attack. Mina did. Without thinking about it, she threw herself at the monster in an almost exact repeat of Lita's maneuver. Mina and the youma crashed into a nearby turnstile. The youma growled impatiently, and threw the interfering girl away from her.

"MINA!" Sailor Moon, Lita, and Raye all screamed out as Mina hit a wall and was still. Seeing the still body of the young girl, the crowd suddenly seemed to realize that this was not a show. That was when the panic started. People screamed and ran in all directions. Lita and Raye pushed through the streams of people to try to get to their friend.

Sailor Moon turned back towards the youma, her face hard and set. "You'll pay for that," she said almost impassively. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she sent out again. It was quickly joined by "SOLAR FLARE!" The two attacks hit the monster, driving it backwards.

Sailor Moon looked up at the new Sailor. He was looking worriedly at their downed friend. "How is she?" he asked as he landed next to his sister.

"I don't know," Sailor Moon admitted. She turned to look at Mina. She was still lying still with Lita and Raye working quickly over her. She turned back to the youma to see him on the roller coaster. His wheeled feet fit perfectly on the rails and he was racing away at a high rate of speed.

"Oh, no," Sailor Moon muttered to herself. "Not there again."

"What?" Sailor Sol asked as he jumped on the track and started running up the slats.

"Nothing," she said, running after him.

They reached the top of the hill to see the youma already going up the next one. Sailor Sol jumped onto one of the rails and started sliding quickly down to the bottom. Sailor Moon reluctantly got on the other one to follow. Her high heeled boots slid off of the rail causing her to fall. She shrieked as she landed on her bottom on the rail and started sliding faster down the steep hill. The youma turned at her scream and saw her fall. He shot out a steel rail that impacted into the ride's rail right in front of her. At the rate she was going, she would smash into it extremely hard. Her hands and feet tried to get a grasp on the slats of the roller coaster, but she was going too fast. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.

She suddenly felt herself grabbed and opened her eyes. "Tuxedo Mask!" she cried.

Tuxedo Mask was standing on the steel rail, having managed to get to that spot seconds before Sailor Moon would have crashed into it.

"Is she all right?" Sailor Sol asked in concern as he looked at the two.

"She's fine," Tuxedo Mask assured him. He put her gently on her feet, and the three of them started climbing again.

There was a long straight-away at the top of the hill and the youma was skating across it easily. Sailor Moon stood at the top, staring at the youma. "We're never going to be able to catch him like this!" she said in despair.

"We've got to try," Sailor Sol told her, running after the youma. Sailor Moon looked over the side of the roller coaster. After an instant of dizziness, her eyes went to where Lita and Raye were still

leaning over a comatose Mina. Her expression firmed, and she ran after the others. The youma seemed to be taunting them as it stood on the edge of the next drop.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Sailor Moon yelled, throwing her tiara at the youma. The youma skated backwards, and was over the hill before the tiara could reach him.

Tuxedo Mask was the first to reach the bottom, with the other two not far behind, Sailor Moon having managed to stay on her feet this time. The youma was already climbing again.

"Why doesn't it stand and fight?" Sailor Moon yelled.

The youma turned suddenly and threw more rails at the Scouts below it. It took some fancy footwork, but none of the three got hit by the large steel rails. When they were finally able to stop jumping out of the way, it became obvious that they were trapped. Large steel rails were around them like the bars of a cage. Tuxedo Mask had managed to jump out of the cage, and was standing on top of one of the rails. He sent a rose flying for the youma as the other two looked around.

Sailor Sol took out his sword. "SUN SWORD SLASH!" he called, slicing through the steel beams as if they were made of paper. Rails fell from the roller coaster, impacting the ground. Luckily, most of the earlier spectators had long since screamed and left.

The rose had hit one of the wheels on the youma's feet, fouling its ability to move on the rails. It had been high enough at the time that it grabbed the top and pulled itself over instead of sliding back down to the sword and tiara waiting for it down below.

With a sigh, the three started climbing again. "Why doesn't it stand still and fight?" Sailor Moon asked again. "I am getting sick and tired of this climbing up and sliding down. Besides, I want to see how Mina is doing."

"Watch out!" Tuxedo Mask yelled out, jumping upwards. Sailor Moon and Sailor Sol looked up to see the youma coming back at them. It had removed the rose from its wheels and was skating down the hill towards them at a very fast rate.

Sailor Sol set himself. "SOLAR FLARE!" he yelled, sending a gout of flame at the youma.

His sister was right behind him. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she cried, the tiara heading towards the fast moving youma.

The youma was about to move out of the way when it was hit in the back, throwing it headfirst into the attacks. Tuxedo Mask reduced his cane back to its normal proportions as he jumped downwards.

Sailor Moon didn't wait to be told what to do. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" she cried, turning the monster into moon dust. She turned and looked over the side as she heard the sounds of emergency vehicles. "I've got to go check on Mina," she told the others, trying to get down as fast as she could.

"We don't belong here," Sailor Sol said to Tuxedo Mask. "I want to see how Mina is too, though."

"Serena will call and tell us," Tuxedo Mask told him. "Let's get out of here." The two male members of the team jumped downward as well.

"Maybe Crystal will still be at the cafe and let me explain," Travis said. "If, that is, I can think of a good explanation for why I had to leave so suddenly."

Darien smiled. "I don't think telling her the whole truth is a good idea," he agreed.

The two boys walked to the cafe, finding, as Travis had expected, that Crystal had left some time before. "That lady sure didn't seem too happy," the cashier told the two young men.

"She's going to kill me," Travis moaned. "Either that or refuse to speak to me, and I don't know which would be worse."

"You really like her, don't you?" Darien asked.

"Yeah, I do," Travis agreed. "Oh, it's not the `destined to be together forever' love that you and Serena have, but I like being around her. She's... special."

"Go for it," Darien told him seriously. "Don't wait around for the `destined to be together forever' kind of love. You'll just be cheating yourself."

"Do you ever wish you didn't have it?" Travis asked. "Do you ever wish that you didn't know?"

Darien thought about it for a short time. "For myself? No. I love Serena with all my heart and can't imagine life without her. But... for her. Sometimes I wish that she didn't have it. I'm afraid that one day, she's going to start hating our love. She'll start wishing she had had a choice in the matter. Start thinking of all the boys she never got to meet because I was there and it `had' to be."

"Never happen, Darien." Travis shook his head quickly. "She's never going to wish different. She loves you too much for that to happen. Trust me, I know my sister's heart. You're it."

Darien smiled his thanks at his younger blood brother. He knew that part of the reason they had had the conversation, was because it kept them from thinking and worrying about Mina. Still, Travis' words helped a little part of Darien's soul that could never help... wondering.

Serena raced towards the people gathered around her friend. "Is she alright?" she called.

"Are you a family member?" one of the paramedics asked.

"No," Serena replied, "I'm just a friend. We were here together, but I got caught over there when that... monster showed up."

"Well, we're taking her to the hospital, so you're going to have to go home now," the paramedic said as they loaded her into the ambulance.

"Can't I go with her? Please?" Serena begged.

"I'm sorry, but only family can come with us. You need to get home and reassure your parents that you're alright," the paramedic replied gently.

"But who's going to tell her parents?" Serena said, bursting into tears.

"Doesn't she have any ID with her?" the paramedic asked the other.

A quick check showed she didn't, and Raye made sure they couldn't see the purse she was hiding behind her back.

"What's her name?" he asked the three girls. They just looked at him.

"Please let us go with her, please?" Serena pleaded.

"Let them come," the other said, "We need to get her to the hospital."

The girls didn't wait for more permission, jumping aboard and finding out of the way places to sit. Serena sat close enough so that she could hold Mina's hand, but still be out of the way. "Why did you do it?" she whispered. "Why did you throw yourself at him that way?"

They arrived at the hospital and Raye went to call Mina's parents, as the others waited impatiently.

Fifteen minutes later, Mina's parents ran in. Her mother ran up to the girls, while her father went to talk to the nurse. "What happened? How is she?"

"There was a youma attack," Lita told her, "Mina got thrown into a wall during it. She hasn't woken up since."

"Oh, my poor baby!" Mrs. Aino. cried. The three girls tried to calm down the crying mother, as Mr. Aino came over with a large amount of paperwork that had to be filled out.

It was another ten minutes before the doctor walked into the waiting room. She wasn't very tall, with shoulder length, dark black hair, but she exuded an air of self-possession and professionalism. "Mr. and Mrs. Aino?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Mrs. Aino said, standing up immediately. The others were on their feet as well, waiting for the news.

"Dr. Mizuno," Serena said desperately, recognizing Amy's mother. "Is Mina going to be all right?"

"Serena?" Dr. Mizuno asked, surprised. Then she shook her head. *T_he only surprise is that Amy isn't here,_* she thought to herself, *_I should have known Serena and the others were here since it was Mina that was hurt_.* "She took a nasty bump to her head, and there is a large amount of swelling, we won't be able to see how bad it is until the swelling goes down. She's a little woozy right now, but I don't think there's any permanent damage. I would like to keep her here for a couple of days for observation."

Mrs. Aino almost fainted in relief, her husband holding her up protectively.

"Can we go see her?" Lita asked immediately.

"Not tonight, Lita," Dr. Mizuno said softly. "Why don't you girls go on home, and come back during visiting hours tomorrow."

"But she is awake now, right?" Raye asked.

"Yes, Raye, she is," Dr. Mizuno answered. "And the first thing she said was, `Boy, is that orderly cute'."

Everyone chuckled at that.

"Same old Mina," Lita laughed. "There's nothing wrong with her brain that wasn't always wrong with it."

"I'll call and ask my dad to pick us up," Serena said, going towards the phones.

At the Tsukino house, Ellen and Ken were watching a movie they had rented. "Isn't it nice to have the kids out of the house for once?" Ellen asked her husband.

"Reenie's still here," Ken reminded her, but he was smiling too. "You're right," he answered, "It is nice not to have to worry about the children for a couple of hours." They settled back down to watch the

romantic movie.

The phone rang and Ken sighed, getting up to answer it. "Tsukino residence," he said.

"The hospital?" was the next thing Ellen Tsukino heard. Her head jerked up. *_No, Serena! Something must have happened!_*

"I'll be right there," Ken Tsukino said, then put down the phone.

"Is Serena all right? What happened? How badly is she hurt?" the concerned mother said in a rush.

"Calm down, Ellen," Ken said gently. "Serena's fine. Mina was hurt in a youma attack and they went to the hospital with her. Serena asked if I would pick up her, Lita, and Raye, and take them home."

Ellen almost collapsed in relief, as Ken turned off the videotape, gave her a kiss, and left the house to go pick up the girls.

Ken drew up in front of the hospital to see the three girls waiting for him. Serena took the front seat, while the other two settled in the back.

"What happened?" he asked as he headed for Lita's apartment. "I thought you just went to Lita's for dinner."

"I did," Serena replied, "and Mina was there too, so we just decided to go to the amusement park. There was a youma there, and Sailor Moon showed up, but without the other Scouts. So I guess, Mina decided to help out." Serena's voice was dull. "She got thrown into a wall and hit her head. She was out for a long time, though Dr. Mizuno said she had woken up by the time we called you."

Mr. Tsukino, Raye, and Lita were all looking at Serena, worried by the lifelessness in her tone. Lita would have said something about it, if they hadn't reached her apartment then. In the flurry of activity as she got out of the car, no one heard Serena say, "It's my fault."

Well, we've come to the end of another installment. Tell me what

you thought.


	9. Chapter 8

Hello, and welcome back. I'm assuming you've read the first part of

Universal B, and probably Universal, or you're going to be very lost.

Standard disclaimers are those pesky little things that always apply but

are rarely written out. Thanks go to Doug and Will, because without

them, this chapter would not be nearly so good. Thanks also to

everybody that writes me.

Enjoy!

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 8: Into the Darkness

Darien and Travis were still talking as they headed back to Travis' house.

"Tell me about Crystal," Darien asked.

"Crystal, hmm?" Travis said thoughtfully. "Well, she's pretty, but that's not really what drew her to me. She's... daring. She'll try anything, doesn't seem to be afraid to do anything. She seems interested in everything, always curious. I like that about her. She wants to learn by doing, and she wants to learn everything. She'd never learned to swim, but when I took her to the pool she dove right in, and worked at it until she got it right. Then she got up onto the diving board." Travis shook his head at the memory.

"So?" Darien grinned, "How did she look in her bathing suit?"

Travis laughed and punched him in the side. "Do you think I looked at her that way? Me? I am too pure, too innocent, too much a gentleman." He looked at his blood brother, "Too much afraid of what she'd do to me if she caught me looking."

Darien stopped and looked at him.

"One guy at the pool said something she did not approve of. She kicked him in a very... indelicate place. Everyone else got the hint." Travis had a pained expression on his face.

Darien sympathized with him.

"Of course, it would be interesting to hear what Serena thinks of you asking me that question." Travis turned and grinned again.

"You wouldn't?" Darien accused.

"Oh, probably not," Travis said.

"`Probably' not? Little brother, you're skating on thin ice here," Darien was smiling as well. These times with just the two of them were rare. Darien had work, college, being Tuxedo Mask, and spending time with Serena. Travis had to juggle school, both families, Sailor Sol, and Crystal. Although they were best friends, they weren't as close in this time as they had been before, and they knew it. And neither of them was happy about it.

Travis changed the subject, "So, oh experienced brother, what should I do to get her over being mad at me?"

"I've always found that kissing works wonders," Darien said slyly.

"Um... no, I don't think that would be a good idea right now," Travis disagreed. "Besides the fact that I've not really known her long enough, she's more than likely to kill me than kiss me at the moment."

"She's not really that bad, is she?" Darien was surprised.

Travis thought about it for a while. "Not really," he finally said slowly. "But... she gets jealous. And she is prone to react first and think later."

"Sounds familiar," Darien said thoughtfully.

Now it was Travis' turn to look at him in surprise. "Serena's not that bad! Or were you talking about Raye?"

"Oh, you know about that?" Darien said. "Yes, Raye got jealous, but no, I was talking about Serena. For a long time, she was jealous of Reenie, because I would pay more attention to her than to Serena. She's matured a lot, but it still happens every once in a while. She'll take something I say the wrong way, or draw the wrong conclusions." He laughed. "Serena can jump to conclusions faster than anyone I've ever met."

"I haven't really noticed that in her," Travis frowned. "She can be a little impulsive, especially if she's mad, but jumping to conclusions?"

"She once thought that Andrew was in love with her because he said he liked her the way she was when she thought she was getting fat," Darien replied with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Arcade Andrew?" Travis blinked.

"Yep, she and Lita had `such' a crush on him. And she was convinced he felt the same way. All he was trying to do was make sure she ate well and got off that crash diet she was on." Darien shook his head.

"So she had a crush on Andrew and you?"

"No," Darien laughed, "this was before we knew about that. She had a crush on Andrew and Tuxedo Mask, but she couldn't stand me. I think conceited jerk was the nicest thing she called me."

"You're kidding!" Travis said, laughing as well.

"No, I'm not. If fate was bringing us together, it wasn't doing a very good job. She kept hitting me with things, or running into me. Not exactly the best way to make a good impression."

"Neither is running out on your date," Travis sighed, reminded of the reason this conversation started.

"Well, you can always try flowers," Darien remarked. "Roses work well, even for people that aren't in love with people who throw them."

"She'll still want an explanation, and I don't have one to give her," Travis sighed.

"You'll think of something," Darien clapped him on the shoulder. "You're good at that."

"Is that a compliment?" Travis asked wryly. "The problem is, she's already jealous of the amount of time I spend with Serena. And whatever happens, I don't want her jealous of Serena. More jealous that is, she already dislikes her I think."

"That could be a problem," Darien said seriously.

"I know," Travis agreed soberly. "I don't want to break up with her over something like that, but I might have to."

Darien decided to change the subject. "I wonder how Mina is doing," he asked absently.

"Better," Travis replied immediately, not even thinking about it. "Serena's not in too good a shape though."

Travis stopped as he heard his own words. He had a very quizzical expression on his face as he tried to figure out why he had said that. "It's true," he said very thoughtfully. "I felt a surge of relief coming from her, not too long ago. That doesn't happen very often, our bond isn't usually that strong. Right now..." he grew silent again as he tried to understand the feelings he was getting from his sister. "Guilty," he finally said. "She feels guilty."

"You can feel her emotions?" Darien asked, extremely surprised. "I didn't think your bond had gotten that far."

"Neither did I," Travis agreed slowly. "Normally I can't feel her unless she's feeling something very strongly. Like fear, which you can get too, right?"

Darien nodded.

"I can see why she would be feeling relief if Mina was alright, but why guilt?" Travis thought out loud.

"Because it was saving her that Mina got hurt," Darien answered immediately. "And we should have been expecting it."

"Then we'll just have to go over there and convince her it's not her fault," Travis said, turning to walk in the other direction.

"Not us," Darien disagreed. "If she's as deep in guilt as you say, I don't think she'd want to see anyone that was in the fight." He raised his communicator to his lips. "Amy?"

"Yes?" came back from the communicator.

"How's Mina?"

"She's going to be fine, she just had a concussion, which is what knocked her out. She's staying at the hospital tonight for observation and is going home tomorrow," Amy answered authoritatively.

Travis and Darien both gave sighs of relief. It felt good to get outside confirmation.

"Serena's feeling really guilty about Mina getting hurt, do you think you could go over there and talk to her?" Darien asked next.

"Of course I can," Amy answered immediately. "Let me check on Mina one more time, and then I'll go."

"Thanks, Amy," Darien said gratefully.

"I love her too, you know," was Amy's answer.

Serena sat silently, curled up in the front seat for the rest of the drive to Raye's temple. She was still silent as the car reached the Tsukino's garage. Mr. Tsukino was worried to notice that she was sitting there with dry eyes. It wasn't like her. She should have been bawling her eyes out, or talking a mile a minute to get her mind off of what had happened, not just sit there quietly.

"Serena," he said quietly. "What's wrong?"

Serena just looked at him with eyes full of hopelessness and despair. Mr. Tsukino pulled her into a hug. "It's alright," he murmured, rubbing his hand down her back. "Mina's going to be alright, you'll see. You heard Dr. Mizuno, she's going to be just fine and is going home tomorrow."

Serena told him the only truth she could. "If it hadn't been for me, she wouldn't have been at the amusement park," she said, hugging him fiercely before bolting out of the car. She ran inside before he could say anything more.

"What happened?" Ellen asked as soon as he came in. "Serena just ran upstairs, she didn't even stop to tell me what had happened."

"From what I understand," Ken said looking up the stairs. "Mina got hurt in a youma attack, and Serena is blaming herself because it was her idea to go to the amusement park."

"Oh, dear, I'll go see if I can do anything," Ellen said, going up the stairs. She remembered how scared Serena had been that something would happen to Reenie, and knew that she must be feeling it a hundred times worse now. She entered the room to find Serena curled up on the bed, holding a pillow. Reenie was next to her, looking at her worriedly.

Mrs. Tsukino closed the door firmly behind her.

"What's wrong, Grandma? She won't tell me!" Reenie said fearfully. Serena hadn't even seemed to see her when she had come in, flopped down on the bed and curled up into a ball. Both Reenie and Luna had tried to get her to tell them what was wrong but she hadn't responded, just stared into space with a blank expression on her face.

"I'm not entirely sure," Mrs. Tsukino said quietly. "Serena," she commanded, "Tell me about the fight tonight."

"There was a fight, and nobody told me?" Reenie asked in disbelief. A glare from her grandmother cut her off. She subsided with a muttered, "I should have been there."

`That' got a reaction. "No, you shouldn't have!" Serena snapped, uncoiling and glaring at her. "You shouldn't be in `any' fight! And you won't be, not again!" Reenie drew back from the onslaught and opened her mouth to argue but Serena overrode her. "I am not going to take a chance on you being hurt like..." she trailed off and her eyes went unfocused again.

"Like Mina was," her mother filled in the silence.

"What happened to Mina?" Luna, Diana, and Reenie asked in unison.

Mrs. Tsukino ignored them. "Your father said you thought it was your fault," she continued.

"It was!" Serena said almost savagely. "`I' was the one that convinced them they could still help, still fight. If it wasn't for me, she never would have thrown herself at the youma like that. Which," she continued in the same tone of voice, "she did to save `me'!"

"Serena," Luna spoke up, "you can't blame yourself for that."

"Yes I can," Serena replied. "They were ready to give up, not fight any more, until I convinced them to keep going. I convinced them to keep fighting, so it's my fault she's hurt!"

"I don't understand," Reenie admitted.

"Serena's saying that if she hadn't talked to Mina about fighting, she wouldn't have tried to fight, and gotten hurt," Ellen explained.

"Does that mean it's my fault, too?" Reenie asked her seriously.

Ellen responded to that, "No, of course it wasn't your fault! Why would you think it was?"

"'Cause I was the one that told her the first time. I was the one that first told her she couldn't stop fighting because she couldn't transform."

"Now you're being silly," Diana piped up. "If you want to blame someone, why not the bad guys?"

"Because the bad guys aren't here," Luna told her.

"So? If they're not here, can't you go there?" Diana asked curiously.

"Because I'm not going to let anymore of my friends and family get hurt," Serena told her. "I'm `not' going to let that happen! But no, Reenie, it's not your fault. I told you, the blame belongs to me."

"Serena," her mother put in. "You know your friends. Do you really think Mina would have stood by and let you be hurt at any time? Whether you'd convinced her she could fight or not?"

"She's right," Luna said, going up and nuzzling her face. "Mina would have tried to help regardless of the fact that she couldn't transform. It's the way she is. It's what makes her a Scout."

"Think of it this way," her mother said. "If you couldn't transform, and Reenie was in danger, what would you do?"

"She'd try to help me," Reenie interjected immediately.

"And we both know that's true," Ellen agreed. "I saw you throw yourself across Reenie when that glass shattered. You weren't transformed then."

"Kind of like what Reenie did?" Diana spoke up. "When she tried to kill that youma with her moonbeam? She would have attacked even if she didn't have it, I could tell."

"Oh, yeah, I did," Reenie remembered. She saw the way Serena was looking at her and grinned uneasily. "I was very angry," she admitted.

"But she shouldn't have! Neither of them!"

"You mean she shouldn't have to," another voice put in. Everyone looked up in surprise to see Amy standing in the doorway. She walked forward and settled down on the overcrowded bed.

"Amy? What are you doing here?" Serena said in surprise.

"I reached the hospital a couple of minutes after you left," Amy said. "I checked on Mina. Mother's right, she's going to be fine."

"That still doesn't..."

Amy interrupted her gently. "Yes it does," she said. "Serena, you are our princess, and we'll protect you to the best of our abilities whether we're Scouts or not. You're also our friend, and that's why we'll do it willingly, even gladly."

"But I don't want you to!" Serena almost yelled, just remembering to keep her voice down so her father wouldn't hear.

"It's not your decision to make, Serena," Amy replied. "You know what we're saying is true, Serena. It is `not' your fault."

"It's the baddies fault," Diana agreed.

"They're the ones that started this whole thing," Reenie put in. "If they hadn't changed the future..."

"If only there was a way we could get the pens back," Luna added. "Then we would have a whole team again, and really be able to handle the Negaverse."

"So why don't you get them back?" Mrs. Tsukino asked.

"Because they're in the Negaverse," Serena replied. "And without a warp, we can't go there, and we don't have a warp."

"Make one," Diana suggested.

"It's not that simple, Diana," Amy replied, before she stopped as a thought hit her, "Or is it?" She pulled out her computer and started typing. Everyone else, even Serena, watched curiously.

"There might be a way," Amy said to herself, pulling up and old program she had used to try to create a warphole, back when they had first been fighting the Negaverse. They hadn't been able to make one then, but now... She quickly added in information regarding the Crystal Time Key, the Sun Stone, and the Earth Gem. Her eyes brightened at the answer she got.

"We might be able to do it," she said. "I need to do a couple more calculations, but I think it might be possible."

"We can go after them?" Reenie said enthusiastically. Serena didn't look too happy with that question.

"You can get the pens back?" Diana cheered.

"No one else will have to get hurt?" was Serena's question.

Ellen was silent, her mind already worrying about her daughter going into that... place. It was sure to be dangerous, and she wanted nothing more then to tell Serena not to go, but she knew that that wouldn't work, nor did she have the right.

"I'm going to go home and work on this," Amy said. "You," she pointed at Serena, "stop worrying about things you have no control over, and get some sleep. We've still got school in the morning."

"School?" Serena gasped. "Oh, no! I haven't done my homework!" She turned to look at Amy. "Thanks," she said.

"Don't thank me," Amy said as she walked out the door. "Darien and Travis were the ones that told me to come over here. They said you needed me."

"Thanks, all of you," she said, looking around at her family sitting on the bed. Ellen was a little disturbed as she watched her daughter seem to get back to normal. Something wasn't right, though she wasn't quite sure what. Still, it looked as if Serena wasn't going to talk anymore about it that night, so Ellen dropped a kiss on her daughter's head, and gave Reenie a hug, then left the room.

After Amy and her mother had left Serena's room, she got up and finished her homework. Reenie and Luna made several attempts to get her to talk, but she didn't seem to hear them. At bed time, instead of giving Reenie a hug and then flopping across the bed, taking up most of the room, she just curled up in a little ball next to the wall. She didn't even respond to Reenie's quiet good night. Reenie tried to snuggle up next to her mother, but she just pulled away and wrapped her arms tighter around herself.

"Mommy?" she whispered quietly. Serena didn't answer.

Reenie stayed awake for as long as she could, worrying. Then she finally drifted off to sleep. When she woke up in the morning, she smiled in relief to find Serena curled up next to her as usual.

In the Negaverse, Quartz looked over the footage of the latest battle. *_Well, that's interesting_,* she thought. *_Maybe this information will allow me to visit my father._* Her thoughts turned to the news she'd gleaned from the servants today. Her father hadn't been in public sight for the last two days, the people were starting to wonder. *_If they've hurt him..._* she fumed.

The door of her room hit the wall with an ear splitting bang. Quartz automatically grabbed for her knife, only to remember it wasn't there anymore. The man who came in was one of Spessarite's captains, a human looking one, except for his hair, which was the color of blood.

The captain smiled evilly as he walked slowly around the girl. She realized she had been following him with her eyes, and jerked them back to the task in front of her. There was no way she'd give him the pleasure of having him think she was scared of him.

"The Lord General wants to know what you've discovered about the pens," he said silkily. "He's tired of waiting."

"Lord General?" Quartz asked, trying hard to keep a straight face and failing. "Spaghetti's calling himself Lord General now? What's next? Lord Vader?"

"What?" the Captain asked, confused. Then he noticed the glint in her eyes. "You dare to mock the Lord General?" he thundered, moving quickly towards her. She jumped up onto the table, surreptitiously grabbing one of the pens while he wasn't looking.

"Why not?" she asked, laughing in his face. "Most of his troops do. As for Lord Vader, he was a much cooler villian than old Spaghetti could ever be."

The captain threw an energy blast at her, almost catching her as she jumped out of the way. She hadn't been expecting that from him. The blast caught the scrying globe she'd been using to watch the fights.

"Oh, that's good," she said sarcastically. "Take away my main way of helping your glorious master. I'm sure he'll be very happy at the way you're helping him."

The blood-haired man clicked his fingers twice. Two youmas came into the room. Quartz tried to fake them out, but it took a lot less time for them to catch her than she had hoped. In a little more than a minute, she was standing in front of him, trying to look defiant.

"So, you think it's fun to play games, do you?" he asked silkily. Quartz didn't make a sound, just looked him in the eye in defiance. His hand flashed out, faster than she expected. She didn't have time to brace herself before the blow hit, and could feel tears trying to go to her eyes as the pain exploded from her midsection. Still she didn't make a sound. It was one thing she had learned early, before she learned how to fight. Bullies prefer victims that show their fear. She refused to give him that satisfaction.

After several more hits, the captain gave up in disgust. An absent gesture sent the two youmas out of the room. "What have you found about these?" he asked again, sweeping the four pens into his hands.

"Nothing," Quartz remarked, tossing her hair over her shoulder, trying to be nonchalant. "I haven't discovered anything, and won't until he let's me see my father."

"Oh, you don't want to see your father," he said with an evil chuckle. "The Lord General was a bit annoyed with him," he grinned at the girl. "He got tired of having to deal with a recalcitrant emperor, so your father's going through a little... attitude readjustment. I would suggest that you have one without the... measures necessary for the," his smile got wider, "Emperor."

He turned his head and listened. "The Lord General is calling me," he said. "You're lucky, this time." He turned and walked toward the door. "You'd better have something for the General soon, or you know what will happen," he sighed airily. "It was so much easier when the Queen was here, just into the brainwashing chamber. It's much more difficult now, much more... painful." He smiled as he headed out the door.

"Enjoy yourself with your Lord, Garnite," Quartz called as the door closed. As soon as he had stopped looking at her, she had moved. She was over by the back wall, smiling.

Captain Garnite stared back at the insolent girl. "You need to be taught some manners. I think I will ask the 'Lord General' if I could be allowed to do it."

Quartz stayed quiet. She knew she had pushed about as far as it was possible to at this moment. Garnite finally turned and walked out. "This isn't over," he called back over his shoulder, "and when I come back, you will tell me how you managed to find out my name." His voice was low and almost oozed threat. "And you will learn never to say it again." He left.

*_I've got to save my father_,* she thought quietly to herself. She took out the one pen she had managed to hide. *_I hope this works._* "Disguise Power! Change me into a youma!" Nothing happened. "No!" she cried out loud. "Why didn't it work?"

Her mind went back over all she'd learned about the pen. Nowhere was there any mention of it being useful to only one person. In fact, several times it had been used by other people, especially spies of the Queen of the Moon. "Maybe... maybe it's too big a change?" she said thoughtfully. She held the pen up again. "Disguise Power! Change me into a captain!" Once more, nothing happened.

"Come on!" she said, looking at it. Once more she ran through everything she had learned. The Negaverse, especially the Palace, had quite a large library about the Moon Kingdom and assorted powers. Several denizens had seen the Pen in use, and all said the same words had been spoken. "Disguise Power worked for Sailor Moon, we have videos of a person that had to be her. It worked for Sailor Mars when she had been spying on Queen Beryl's Kingdom. It worked for Sailor... "That's it," she whispered. "It works for Sailors, not for me."

She drooped slightly, before firming her shoulders. "Well, if it won't disguise me, I'll just have to do it without its help."

Quartz checked once more to be sure that no one was looking into the room, then opened a secret door next to her worktable. She hadn't used it before, because it only led to a hallway that was routinely patrolled by youmas that knew she had no business being there. Taking a deep breath, she went to find her father.

Meanwhile, Spessarite and the captain were conferring. "Our own researchers have confirmed it. The sword that yellow Scout was using does hold the Sun Stone in its hilt. If we can get it..."

"I'll send a youma down at once, My Lord," the blood haired captain said.

"Yes, hit them while they are tired. After the three youma they fought yesterday, they should not be expecting another one so soon." He thought for a moment. "On second thought, wait for a little while longer, let them let down their guard even more. Send it down sometime tonight."

"Yes, M'Lord," the captain replied, bowing. He looked up. "The girl is getting uppity, My Lord. May I be allowed to discipline her?"

"She's serving no purpose now," Spessarite mused. "Yes, Captain Garnite, you may."

"Thank you, M'Lord." Garnite gloated as he thought of what he would do to her.

"Just try not to kill her, we might still have a use for her."

The next day, Serena seemed almost her normal self. She was a little subdued, and didn't even tease Travis when he said he'd be late to the Scout meeting because he needed to talk to Crystal.

Serena told Amy and Lita that she would be late as well and walked over to Mina's house. Mina's mother let her in, and she walked slowly up the stairs to Mina's room. She took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face before knocking on the door.

"Come in," Mina called through the door, knowing it would be one of her friends.

"Hi Mina!" Serena caroled. "How are you feeling? I brought you this," she handed Mina one of the stuffed rabbits she had received for her birthday.

"Oh! It's so cute," Mina gushed, hugging it tightly. She then put it down on top of a white stuffed cat laying next to her.

"Hey!" the cat yelled. He sat up, trying to be dignified as he shook the rabbit off of him.

"Ooops, sorry Artemis," Mina giggled.

Serena smiled slightly at the sight, but it faded quickly. "So Mina, how are you feeling? Is there anything I can get for you? Some food, some comics? Do you need any more things to do? I should have brought over my video games for you to play."

"Serena, what's the matter?" Mina started to say.

"Here, let me plump up that pillow of yours," Serena suited actions to words and went on speaking. "I'll get that bear, I don't think he's supposed to be on the floor. Are you supposed to be sitting up? Aren't you supposed to be lying down and resting? How long are you supposed to be in bed for?"

"Serena! Stop talking!" Mina said louder.

"Does your head hurt? Do you need any aspirin? Or did they give you special pain pills like the ones they gave me when I had that really bad toothache? How about some water, are you thirsty?" Serena bounded towards the bathroom.

"Serena!" Mina yelled. "Calm down, I'm not an invalid," Mina told her.

Serena came back, but didn't seem to be able to sit still. Mina watched in disbelief as Serena started to clean up her room.

"Serena!" Mina practically shouted again. She was flabbergasted when Serena turned around. Her eyes were very dark and pooled with tears.

"It's not your fault, Serena." Mina got out of bed and went to her, disregarding the slight dizziness she felt when she first got up. She knew what was wrong. Amy had made sure to warn her, but Artemis had gone and spied on her, and said she'd seemed okay, so Mina thought she had gotten over it. She wrapped her in a hug, but Serena just stood there, stiff.

"You were hurt, and it `was' my fault," Serena said seriously.

"No, it wasn't!" Mina responded immediately. "It was nobody's fault, it was just bad luck." Mina guided Serena to a seat on the bed, after pushing stuffed animals off to make room for her friend to sit down. "There was no way of knowing that I'd get hurt. I really do need to learn how to tackle a little better though. It's not something you learn in volleyball."

"How can you be so calm about it?" Serena almost yelled. "You shouldn't have gotten hurt, and wouldn't have if I hadn't told you to fight without your powers!"

"Now hold on!" Mina sat up straight, looking at Serena. "You didn't tell me to fight, I told myself! The only thing you told me was that I wasn't acting like a Sailor Scout, which is true! But even if you hadn't said that, I would have done what I did. It was pure reflex and I would do it again in a minute!"

"It's not right," Serena said stubbornly turning her head away, and refusing to look at Mina.

Mina wouldn't stand for that. She reached over and pulled Serena's head around. "Sure it is," she disagreed, smiling. "It's the way it should be."

A knock on the door came before Serena could say anything more.

"Come in," Mina called.

"Hi Mina," Amy said, walking in. "I stopped by your school and picked up your homework. I knew you'd need something to do while you were stuck in bed."

"Gee, thanks," Mina replied, looking as if she had been handed a snake as she took the books and quickly pushed them out of sight.

Amy gave her a stern look.

"What?" Mina asked. "Studying makes my head hurt. Don't you think it's been hurt enough?" Neither noticed Serena wincing at that.

Another knock came on the door, and Mina called for whoever was out there to come in. Reenie came skipping in with a bouquet of wild flowers, with Raye just behind her.

"Hi, Mina!" Reenie chirped. "These are for you!" She handed Mina the bouquet. It was a little wilted, but Mina smiled sincerely and thanked her.

"I'll go get some water for them," Amy said, going out to ask Mina's mother for a vase.

A cough from the window brought everyone's attention to the three cats and a falcon sitting there. "Good afternoon, Mina, I hope you're feeling better," Apollo said.

"Much Apollo, thanks," Mina beamed at the four guardians.

"If you're feeling better, does that mean you don't need any of my triple chocolate fudge cake," Lita said from the doorway. Serena, Reenie, and Mina's eyes got large at the sight of the scrumptious cake.

"If I ever didn't want one of your cakes, Lita, I wouldn't be sick, I'd be dead," Mina's eyes didn't leave the cake as Lita put it down on a table that had an empty corner, something hard to find in the overcrowded room.

Once again, no one noticed Serena's eyes go flat as she heard her friend's words. *_It might happen_,* she thought wretchedly. *_One of them might get seriously hurt, even... killed._*

"Well, since we're all here, we might as well have our Scout meeting. Except... where's Travis?" Luna asked.

"He's busy," Serena told her. "I don't think he's coming. And Darien's got to work."

"Then Scout meeting it is," Artemis said. "What's on the agenda?"

"The Negaverse, of course," Raye remarked. "And how we're to get out pens back."

"Uh, uh," Mina said. "Cake comes first."

"Agreed," the others exclaimed.

"I'll go get plates and something to drink," Serena said, hopping up and leaving the room before the others could comment.

"How is she?" Amy asked immediately as Serena left the room.

"Still beating herself up about it," Mina said seriously. "It wasn't her fault! Why won't she believe that?"

"Because she's being a meatball head," Raye remarked, being very careful to hide the concern in her eyes.

A sound came at the door, and Reenie rushed to open it, to find Serena holding a tray with a carton of milk, glasses, plates and forks.

"I would have brought the tea up, but Mrs. Aino said she'd bring it," Serena remarked as she absently put down the tray on the edge of the desk as she went to move some of the stuffed animals and hair ribbons off and make room for the tray. Lita rushed to catch it as it teetered.

"I had it Lita, there was no reason for you to get up," Serena said, frowning.

"Just trying to help out," Lita said, still holding the tray which Serena hadn't taken from her.

"I know why Mrs. Aino didn't want Serena to bring up the tea," Raye whispered to Reenie.

"She's gotten better," Reenie giggled and whispered back, "She hardly ever breaks more than one dish a week, now."

Mrs. Aino brought up the tea, and everyone was served. Serena's idea of a piece of chocolate cake brought some sarcastic remarks from Raye, but everyone was relieved. By her appetite, she was a lot better.

The talk moved back to the Negaverse and the transformation pens.

"Go after them," Diana piped up. "You said it might be possible," she reminded Amy.

"That's right," Amy replied. "Last time we fought the Negaverse, I tried to figure out how to create a portal into the Negaverse. However, all my information said it wasn't possible. That is no longer true."

"You mean we can?" Lita looked up eagerly.

"Hold on!" Serena said at once, "You're not going." Her firm tone of voice had less impact then it might have, the words being said through a mouthful of cake.

"She's right," Luna said before Lita could argue. "It's going to be too dangerous for non-Scouts to go." She changed that quick. "I mean, it will be too dangerous for you to go while not in your Scout forms."

"Let's make sure we can go, before we start worrying about who," Apollo said logically from his perch by the window.

"Well," Amy replied. "Our problem before was two fold, resonance, and power. It wasn't just that it was far away, we could have teleported to that, it was the fact that the Negaverse `is' another universe. It's closely tied to this one, but it is still another universe, and our teleporting only works in this one. However, Reenie's Key is not tied to one Universe. To allow her to cross through time, another thing that our teleporting cannot do, it... resonates... on many frequencies. It is... tuned to time travel, but can be retuned to dimensional travel."

"My Key?" Reenie said in wonder, pulling it out from around her neck.

"To retune it, and for the extra power we need, you'll have to use all three of the stones," Amy continued, ignoring the interruption, "If you focus the power of the stones, within the Crystal Key, we should be able to form a portal into the Negaverse. You won't be able to visualize where you end up, either."

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Mina murmured.

"You're right, it isn't," Serena eagerly responded.

"Serena! Don't you want us to get our powers back?" Raye's tone was sarcastic, but she meant what she asked.

"Of course, I do," Serena answered. "But..."

"But she doesn't want anyone else hurt," Reenie said, impatiently. "We're not going to be hurt, Mommy."

Serena stared back at her, "You can't be sure of that," she muttered.

"Oh, Serena," Luna sighed. "Mina getting hurt was not your fault, you know that."

"Could have fooled me," Serena muttered.

"Why would you think it was your fault?" Lita asked, honestly confused.

"I was the one that convinced you to fight, that makes it my fault," Serena was convinced.

"Serena, you're being stubborn," Raye said in exasperation. "It wasn't your fault! You couldn't have stopped it, you know that!"

"She was hurt defending me after I convinced her to fight," Serena put down her plate to argue. "It was my fault."

"Well then!" Mina said, getting up abruptly and going over to Serena. "I forgive you." She drew Serena into a hug. "There, feel better?"

"You have chocolate on your cheek," Serena said, reaching up to brush it off. She smiled very slightly.

Serena kept quiet as the others discussed the best time to go. They all agreed the sooner the better, but it would take time to set up an excuse for Travis, Serena, and Reenie being away from home and school for however long it took.

"I can't think of anything," Amy finally said. "I don't think there is an excuse your parents would accept for you missing school, even though we could have another slumber party."

"If we could get it done in one night, that would be fine," Lita said. "Serena? Do you think you could get our pens back in a night?"

Serena raised her brow, "How should I know? We don't even know what's over there, much less where the pens are or who we'll have to fight."

"Meatball Head's right," Raye agreed reluctantly. "We don't know, so we can't say how long it will take."

"We've got to get our pens back though," Lita said. She turned and stared intently at Serena. "We don't want to take a chance that `you' might be hurt if we don't have them."

"Um..." Serena started, but the others had already caught on to what Lita was saying.

"Do you know how guilty we'd feel if something happened to you while we didn't have our pens?" Mina said. "After all, there must have been some way of stopping that youma from stealing them."

"I should have seen that it was possible for someone besides us to reach into our Lunar pockets and found a way to make it impossible," Amy agreed.

"No, it's my fault," Luna put in. "I should have thought about back-up pens of some sort."

"But that's silly!" Serena exclaimed. "There was no way you could know!"

"We should have," Raye put in. "As for me and Mina getting caught," she shook her head, "If we'd been more wary, it wouldn't have happened. So it's our own fault we lost them."

"No," Apollo disagreed. "It's the guardians job to teach you not to be caught like that, so it's our fault."

"Agreed," Artemis put in.

"So if something happened to you because we don't have our pens," Lita finished. "It would be our fault."

"Now you're all talking crazy!" Serena said, exasperated. "There was nothing you could do about losing your pens, there was no way you could know!"

They were all staring at her, the guardians included. "Don't look at me like that! It's not the same thing!"

Reenie was giggling slightly, not able to hold it in. It had taken her a bit longer than most of the others to figure out what they were doing, but she thought it funny that it was the same thing that she had said last night. Diana still looked a little lost.

"Look, just tell me when we're going? And stop looking at each other like that," Serena sounded exasperated, but her voice had a lightness not even chocolate cake had managed to bring out.

"The sooner the better," Amy said, as all signs of mirth was wiped from their expressions. "Today, if possible."

"And if we're gone more than a day? How are we going to explain it?" Serena asked.

"We'll think of something," Lita said confidently.

"Explaining me and Reenie might not be hard, considering Mother will help you, but how are you going to explain it to Uncle Jake?" With that, Serena got up to leave. "I'm going to talk to my mother," she said. She went out and closed the door behind her. A second later, she opened it again and poked her head back inside. "By the way guys, thanks."

"Hey, Serena, where's your shadow?" Sammy asked as he saw her walking down the street. Serena automatically turned to look at her shadow, before realizing that he was talking about Reenie.

"Ha ha, very funny," she told him. "Where's Mom?"

"She went to the beauty salon, and then she was going to go shopping," Sammy shrugged. "She should be back home in three or four hours."

"Oh, great," Serena sighed. She went inside and up to her room. "Mom's gone out and isn't going to be home for hours!" she wailed over the communicator. "What are we going to do now?"

"One of us will just have to explain it to her," Raye's voice came through. "We've already been in touch with Travis, he's told his uncle he's staying with Darien again. They'll both be able to get to the temple in half an hour, will you?"

"Yeah," Serena said. "I'll be there."

Serena flopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was going to be dangerous. They might not come back. Her mind flashed back to the fight at the Arctic Circle, when Amy, Raye, Mina, and Lita were killed. When Darien, sweet Darien had died in her arms. *_It'll be different this time,_* she tried to convince herself. *_Nobody's going to die. We're going to get the pens, and come back, safe and sound.*_

Sailor Moon, Sailor Crescent Moon, Sailor Sol, and Sailor Earth stood in the temple courtyard. Once again, Darien had had to be reminded that his Tuxedo Mask form couldn't use the Earth Gem fully. He had wanted to be in his strongest form for going into the Negaverse.

Crescent Moon stood in the middle of the other three, holding up her Crystal Time Key.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

"EARTH GEM POWER!"

"SUN STONE POWER!"

The power of the three stones went into the Time Key as Crescent Moon shouted. "Crystal Time Key! Open a portal to the Negaverse!" As the four concentrated on what they wanted, the power started to swirl not far from where Sailor Moon was standing. Amy scanned it with her computer.

"This is it! The scans show that this does indeed, lead to the Negaverse! Now, be careful, pulling the power too quickly will shut down the gate, you all need to walk forward together and go through in as close to a group as possible."

Sailor Moon stared at the portal then turned around and looked at the friends that were staying behind. Her eyes caught Mina, who shouldn't have even been out of bed yet, and was swaying where she stood, Lita unobtrusively nearby to hold her steady. Memories assailed her, of Mina thrown into the wall, Tuxedo Mask getting hit by the spike in Starlight Tower, and dying in the Negaverse, Sailor Sol getting hurt in his first fight, Sailor Universe going down under the youmas in front of the Crystal Palace... and all the Scouts dying one by one as they headed towards the Negaverse base.

*_It can `not' happen again!_* she thought suddenly, almost panicking at the thought of losing the three most important people in her world. Looking around at her friends and family she made a decision. Without warning, or thinking more about it, she broke for the circle of darkness and energy marking the entrance to the Negaverse. As she dove through the portal she withdrew the energy of her crystal away from the Key.

The others watched in disbelief as the portal closed behind their leader. "SERENA!" they screamed.

Reenie's scream was the loudest of all, "MOMMY!"

Well? What did you think? Don't forget to write and tell me.

Is Sailor Moon going to realise that she wasn't too smart? Is Quartz going to find her father? And what about the other Scouts? Find out in Chapter Nine, whatever I'm going to call it.


	10. Chapter 9

Standard disclaimers go here -

The idea that I want you to write me, goes here -

But I don't feel like putting all that in ^_^.

Enjoy.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 9: Expanding Darkness

Sailor Moon stood looking around her. The portal had dropped her in the middle of an open plain. Ahead in the distance, there stood a mountain. The sky was dark and no sign of a sun could be seen, yet there was light enough to make out the features of the land.

Sailor Moon took one look around. "I don't think this was a very good idea," she whispered to herself in a trembling voice. "I didn't think it would be quite so scary here. Maybe I'd better go back and get the others after all." She turned back towards the portal, only to find it gone.

"Wha...?" she started to cry, seeing no sign of the portal. "Where is it?" She looked in all directions, searching for some sign of the portal she entered through. "Of course," she snapped her fingers. "Reenie's portals always appear in midair, even though I don't remember falling," she whispered in an aside. She looked up into the air, but still saw nothing.

"Where can it be? I came through it, so it's got to still be there, right?" she asked herself in a quavering tone. She knew Amy said they had to go through together, and had gone in first because she didn't want the others hurt, but it never occurred to her that they were all needed to get out!

"I'm stuck here?" she said in shock. "And... because of me, the others can't get here? Oh, no! What did I do?"

"I'm going to die here and nobody will ever know!" she cried.

"You're right, Sailor brat," a low voice came from behind her, "You will die here. But you're wrong in the other, everyone will know."

Sailor Moon spun around to see five youma standing behind her with gloating looks on what passed as their faces.

Quartz was pressed up against the side of the hallway, trying to keep in the shadows, and holding her breath and becoming absolutely still everytime she heard the sound of another living being. She reached a cross corridor and stopped, her eyes moving ceaselessly from one side to another. *_Which way_?* she thought to herself. *_Will they keep him in his chambers or move him elsewhere?_*

His chambers, she decided, moving down the hall towards the Emperor's chambers. Halfway there she stopped. *Wait a minute,* she thought. *_Would Spessarite really let him stay there?_* She grimaced at her own thoughts. Two weeks ago, Spessarite wouldn't have been able to `let' them do anything. He wouldn't have dared. *_Maybe Spessarite's right, maybe we are too soft. If Queen Beryl were still alive and in charge, I would never have dared call him Father, even if I was sure no one could hear. We would never have discussed our plans out in the open._* Quartz shook her head sharply. *_This isn't getting me any closer to my father. We get him out first, and then..._* her face went hard and deadly, *_then Spessarite will pay!_*

Suddenly alarms blew, all over the castle. *_They know I'm gone!_* she thought. She turned and ran down the nearest tunnel, still trying to stay in the shadows. Her expression boded ill for any youma that got in her way.

Just ahead of her loomed an orange youma. Quartz readied her attack, then paused. This youma had always been one of Rhyolite's guards, and had come with them when Rhyolite became Emperor. Because of Rhyolite's policy of instilling loyalty in his followers, it was unlikely that he would have joined Spessarite's ranks willingly. Quartz drew in a deep breath, and kept her attack at the ready. She stepped into the light.

The youma went to attack before recognizing her and pulling it. "Oh, Quartz," he said in a growly voice, "I haven't seen you in a while, been busy with another job for the Emperor?"

"Secret," Quartz grinned, "What's all the alarms about? I haven't had time to go check it out."

"Oh, probably just a false alarm. They're actually saying that one of the Sailor Scouts have been sighted here, in the Negaverse, not far from this castle! Oh, wouldn't I love to get my hands on one of those blasted Scouts," he almost spit.

"It's not very likely to be true," Quartz told him. "I've got to go, I still have my own job to do. Oh, and if anyone asks..."

"I haven't seen you," the youma grinned toothily.

"Thank you," she murmured, before moving on into the corridor. Once out of his sight, she moved back into the shadows. *_One of the Sailor Scouts, here,_* she thought. *_If it's true, this may be just the diversion I need.*_

Meanwhile, back on Earth the Scouts were still caught in total surprise and shock. Reenie suddenly broke from her paralysis and ran towards the spot where her mother had disappeared. "Mommy!" she cried.

"Amy!" Sailor Earth shouted as he rushed to his daughter, "How do we get there?"

"I... I don't think you can," Amy said worriedly. "It needed the Crystal's signature I guess you could say, for the portal to cross into the Negaverse."

"You mean we're stuck here?" Sailor Sol practically yelled, "and... and she's stuck... there?" his voice had almost dropped to a whisper.

"No!" Crescent Moon cried, "She can't be gone, she can't be!"

Sailor Earth was about to scoop her into her arms as she burst into tears, but she suddenly ran past him. "Crystal Time Key! Take me to the Negaverse!" she screamed.

Nothing happened.

"Reenie," Lita said quietly, trying to calm her down, "it's okay. We'll figure something out, I promise."

"No! It'll work! It has to work!" Crescent Moon said, wiping away her tears. Her face was firmed with determination. "Crystal Time Key! Take us to the Negaverse!" she called again.

Nothing happened.

Crescent Moon's face screwed up as tears poured from her eyes and she collapsed to the ground, "Mommy," she whispered through her sobs. Sailor Earth and Sailor Sol moved towards her immediately. "Mommy!" she said a little louder. "MOMMY!" she screamed. Her grief and fear

combined within her, and her moonbeam came into being around her. It started to shoot into the sky, but was instead absorbed by the key she was still holding.

Amy looked up in shock. "Now!" she screamed. "Give her your power now!"

Sailors Earth and Sol didn't hesitate, they instinctively knew what she meant. "EARTH GEM POWER!" "SUN STONE POWER!" they yelled, throwing their power behind the little girl's.

She stood up carefully, hoping, but trying not to. "Crystal Time Key," she almost whispered. "Take us to the Negaverse!" The portal formed quickly before them.

"Together this time," Amy called. "And you might not come out in the same place she did, so be careful!"

The three walked forward together, and stepped through the portal. The eight left behind watched the portal disappear. Then Mina swayed and almost collapsed. Lita jumped to help her. "I knew you shouldn't have been out of bed yet," she said as she braced her.

Amy came over to check her out. "She just overextended herself," Amy informed them, "She needs to rest."

"I've got a pallet set up in a guest room," Raye said. As the others looked at her she continued, "Was anyone really planning on going home tonight?" she asked. The others shook their heads mutely. "I'm going to be in with the Great Fire if you need me."

Mina had gotten over her weakness and stood on her feet. She looked at Raye, "Pray for them," she said seriously.

Raye looked as if she wasn't going to say anything, but then changed her mind and looked at Mina. "I planned to," Raye answered before turning and walking inside.

Sailor Moon looked at the five youmas surrounding her. *_What do I do?*_ she thought, panicked. *_I can't take on five by myself!_* She thought about why she was by herself and her expression firmed. *_I got myself into this, I'd better think of a way to get myself out, otherwise,_* she gulped as she looked around again, *_I'm toast!_*

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she called, sending her tiara at one of the youmas.

The youma she targeted stepped sneeringly out of the way of the tiara. As it passed him, a second youma reached out and grabbed the tiara.

"No fair!" Sailor Moon cried as she saw her weapon caught.

"This is our world," another youma explained, "This time, you're the weak one."

Sailor Moon tried to back away, her eyes trying to watch everyone at once. She screamed as she felt hands grab her arms from behind, only then realizing there were only four of the youma in front of her.

"I thought you'd be more dangerous than this," the one who seemed to be in charge sneered. He was the most human looking one of the group. "You're just a timid little rabbit."

"Rabbit?" Serena whispered. She started struggling wildly forcing two more of the youmas to help hold her. *_Reenie!_* she thought. *_If they get me, Reenie won't be born!_*

"No!" she screamed, pulling futily at the arms that held her. They just laughed and held her tighter, twisting her arms painfully.

"The Emperor will reward us well for this," the most human looking one said.

Sailor Moon dragged her feet and fought wildly, trying to get to either her tiara or her scepter, but they were holding her too tight. Her mind worked desperately, going over everything she had learned in martial arts class and trying to find a way to use it. She went over every attack she had, trying to find `something' she could use to fight. Finally her mind remembered one attack that she had used only once. She dug in her heels, threw back her head, and wailed her fear and anger to the world, trying to remember exactly what she had done to cause...

It worked! Her barrettes took her wails and built them, sending reverberations out in sonic waves toward the youmas holding her. With one accord, they dropped her arms, and clasped their hands over their ears. Sailor Moon threw herself out of the way while pulling out her scepter. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" she yelled, sending cleansing power toward the youmas. They withstood it for far longer than any youma had before, but eventually, the power of the Moon overcame them, and they turned into dust.

For a moment, Sailor Moon collapsed in relief before getting to her feet once more. Looking forward, she saw that they had been moving closer to the mountain. On closer examination, however, lights could be seen shining from the side of it. She stopped without even realizing she had. "`That's' a building?" she asked the empty air. "No way, I don't want to go in there. Uh-uh, that's way too dangerous, way too scary that is. Maybe I'd better go get the others... Oh, yeah, I forgot, I can't go get the others..." She looked at the castle for a long moment, then squared her shoulders. "I'm just going to have to do it," she told herself. She took two steps towards the imposing structure and stopped again. "But I don't wanna!" She was still arguing with herself halfway to the castle.

Several miles away, and at the same time the youmas grabbed Sailor Moon, a portal opened and three figures stepped through. "Where is she?" the littlest one asked as the tallest transformed his clothes into a tuxedo and cape.

"Amy said we might not come out at the same place as her," Sailor Sol reminded her.

"There!" Tuxedo Mask said, pointing unerringly to their left. "And she's in trouble!" He took off running with the other two right behind him. Still, the distance was long, and they were still over a mile away, with Crescent Moon fading fast in the race, when they heard Sailor Moon's scream.

"Serena!" Sailor Sol and Tuxedo Mask yelled, increasing their pace.

"Wait for me!" Crescent Moon cried from behind them.

"You go on," Sol told Tuxedo Mask, "I'll get her." He ran back to pick up the little girl and then hurried to try to catch up to his blood brother. However he was too far away by that time for them to catch him. They saw him abruptly stop at the top of a hill. "Oh, no," Sailor Sol whispered, expecting the worse.

"What's the matter, Sailor Sol?" Crescent Moon asked. "You can put me down now."

Sailor Sol put her down absently, more interested in what he was sure he'd see when they reached the top of the hill. When he reached the top, he looked over with trepidation. Then his eyes opened wide. Sailor Moon was just standing there. As he watched, she started moving forward.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"There were five of them," Tuxedo Mask said. "She took care of them all."

"Good," Sailor Sol remarked. "Now let's go down and tell her exactly what we think of her for taking off on her own like that."

"We can try," Tuxedo Mask said, starting down the hill. "But I don't know if we're going to be able to catch her in time."

"Well, then let's tell her to wait up," Crescent Moon said, before opening her mouth to start yelling.

Sailor Sol clamped a hand over her mouth. "Do you want everyone to know we're here?" he asked in a hiss. "Keep quiet!"

Crescent Moon nodded, embarrassed. Now knowing that there were youmas on the plain, the three had dropped from a run into a fast walk, trying to keep a watch on all sides while still trying to catch up to Sailor Moon.

"I'm not sure if I want to kiss her because she's safe, or kill her myself for pulling this stupid stunt," Tuxedo Mask muttered to his blood brother.

"I know what you mean," Sailor Sol agreed. "I can see why she did it, but it was a really, really stupid thing to do. I'd like to shake some sense into her myself."

"Why did she?" Crescent Moon asked quietly.

"Hmm?" Sailor Sol responded absently. "Oh, because she didn't want any of us to get hurt like Mina did. I think that's what it is, anyway. Believe me, when we catch up, I'm going to ask."

By this time, Sailor Moon was almost to the wall of what was now, obviously, a very big building. The others were still too far behind to be able to get to her before she went in, unless she couldn't find a way in. All three found themselves hoping that there wasn't a way in, or that it would be too hard to get through, giving the three of them enough time to catch up.

Up next to imposing wall, Sailor Moon found herself stopped. As far as she could see, there wasn't an opening anywhere. It was sheer, unbroken stone. *_OK, this is as far as I can go, so I can turn back now, right_?* she asked herself. *_Wrong!_* she thought furiously. *_I'm going to get in there and get the pens! No matter what!_* That last was thought with a mental gulp as her mind conjured up all sorts of creatures and traps that could get in her way.

She put out one hand to touch the castle wall, trying to see if there were any cracks or anything. She pulled it back quickly with an expression of disgust. "EWW! That's slimy!" she couldn't help exclaiming, while trying to wipe it off onto her skirt.

She kept walking next to the wall, hearing, but not really noticing the alarms going off inside. However, she did notice when the wall about thirty feet in front of her started to open, and dropped to the ground, trying to hide in the grass. She huddled there, praying they wouldn't notice her as a troop of youmas, only two vaguely human-like, marched out of the wall and headed into the plain.

Sailor Moon stayed down and sighed in relief as they passed. She lay looking after them until a grinding sound signaled the door closing. She ran towards it and slipped inside before it could close.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she cried as soon as she got in, sending her tiara towards the youma in charge of the door, only to find there wasn't a youma there. Instead, the discus impacted a machine, breaking it in two, and causing the door to get stuck still slightly open. "Uh oh," she muttered, trying to close the door by hand, "Now they'll know someone came in this way."

She finally gave up and moved forward into the room. She stepped through the doorway into a hall and stopped, frozen by the sight of a half a dozen youma looking straight at her. With an "EEP!" she ducked back into the room she came from and listened to the sound of their running feet getting closer. She tried to push the broken machine in front of the door, but wasn't able to get it to move.

*_I hope they can't catch it_,* she thought to herself as she pulled off her tiara and started it glowing. *_Enough of them, and they won't be able too!_* she suddenly thought gleefully. As the youmas started coming through the door, she threw, "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Immediately she reached back up and did it again. "MOON TIARA MAGIC! MOON TIARA MAGIC!" The youmas had managed to dodge the first three tiaras, although the second one had clipped one of the six in the arm. The last time she had done this, the droid had destroyed the tiaras as they attacked, so she only had to keep her will on one at a time to send it where she wanted it to go. This time, she had to keep her will on all three, as they hadn't been destroyed, or returned.

She noticed one of the three loose tiara's over a youma's head. "MOON TIARA STARDUST MAGIC!" she called, spraying the youma beneath it with stardust. She smiled tightly as he backed off in pain.

The three discs of energy were keeping the youma from rushing the room, but not doing much damage, the youma were too fast, and too good at dodging. The few times she did get a hit in, it didn't disable the youma like it would have normally. Her face was starting to show the strain of the continuous energy output.

Suddenly, one of the youma's burst through the doorway, at the same time the back door started to open farther. *_Oh no, they're back!_* Serena thought, remembering the youma patrol that had left through that doorway. "Why did I ever come through alone?" she asked herself out loud in despair.

"That's what we want to know!" a voice said from the door to the outside.

All three tiaras dropped to the floor as Sailor Moon turned in shock.

"Yeah, really, Sailor Moon," a child's voice continued. "You grounded me for doing something on my own, and then you go and do it."

Several roses impacted the youma that was heading towards the oblivious Sailor Moon. "Tuxedo Mask!" she cried, rushing towards him.

He caught her in a hug for a long moment, then pushed her away. "Let's take care of these monsters, and then we'll have a long talk," he said ominously.

"I'm so glad to see you all here!" she said thankfully, briefly hugging Crescent Moon and Sailor Sol.

"SOLAR FLARE!" Sailor Sol called out, directing it at the youmas that had come through the door while Sailor Moon was distracted.

"CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!" Crescent Moon added her own power to the attack.

"Oh, yeah," Sailor Moon said, turning back around. She pulled out her scepter. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" she called, turning the power first on the one her tiara and Tuxedo Mask's roses had hit. After a few seconds of effort, the weakened youma turned into dust. Next she moved the power so it headed towards the two that Crescent Moon and Sailor Sol were concentrating their attacks on. The youmas hadn't been able to dodge most of the power of the two Scouts, so the scepter took them out easily.

That left three and Tuxedo Mask, Crescent Moon, and Sailor Sol each took one on to try to weaken it enough for the scepter to work. "SUN SWORD SLASH!" Sailor Sol said, pulling his sword, and setting it on fire as he went. He ran up to a youma who's hands were edged and seemed to be made of steel themselves. The two of them thrust, parried, feinted and attacked, Sailor Sol being pushed back by the necessity of having to parry two swords with his one. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" flew by him, impacting the youma, who paused in shock for long enough that Sailor Sol was able to get in a thrust to his midsection.

"Finish it, Sailor Moon!" he called out, before turning toward the next youma.

"I'm kind of busy right now," she called back. He looked up to see her and Crescent Moon standing across from a youma, with what seemed like a dozen disks of energy between them. As he watched, one of the disks flew at Sailor Moon, and she dropped to the floor to let it go over her.

"Why don't you just take out her energy disks?" Sailor Sol called over.

"I would if I knew which ones were hers and which ones were mine!" Sailor Moon said back, sarcastically. "But everytime I try to move mine, hers move too, so I can't tell. And everytime they move toward her, her disks take them out!"

"Then use a power besides the tiaras!" Sailor Sol yelled to her before turning back to where Tuxedo Mask was using his cane and roses to do some damage to the last youma.

"Oh yeah," Sailor Moon and Sailor Crescent Moon muttered, embarrassed. "CRESCENT MOONBEAM STRIKE!" flew through the disks as they dropped to the floor following Sailor Moon's mental commands to her own. Not expecting the new attack, the youma was too surprised to move out of the way.

Soon, "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" took out the final three.

"I'm so glad you guys are here," Sailor Moon gushed, running to give them all another hug.

"I'm glad you're safe," Tuxedo Mask said, hugging her so close it seemed like he was never going to let her go. He pulled back slightly and took her by the shoulders. "If you ever..." he started, bending down and giving her a kiss, "scare me like that again..." another kiss, "I'll personally, make sure..." and yet another kiss, "you never leave your house again."

"Uncle Travis?" Crescent Moon asked in a hushed voice, "Is he scolding her, or kissing her?"

"Both," Sailor Sol answered, smiling. Crescent Moon looked confused. "Don't worry kiddo, you'll understand when you're older."

"I hate those kinds of answers," Crescent Moon griped. "When's older?"

"When you don't have to ask anymore," Sailor Sol told her. "Um guys?" he broke up Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask who had moved past the recrimination stage. "We really need to get moving, sometime today."

Sailor Moon turned and stared levelly at her wisecracking brother. "He's right," Tuxedo Mask agreed. She sighed and agreed.

The four of them cautiously stuck their heads out of the doorway, and finding the corridor empty started down it. "Why did you do it?" Crescent Moon asked in a quiet voice. The others looked intently at Sailor Moon as she lowered her head and blushed.

"I just... I just..." Sailor Moon tried to gather her thoughts. "I didn't want you to be hurt," she looked up. "You three are the most important people in the world to me, and I suddenly felt," she paused again. "I felt, no, I `knew' that if you came here, you'd be hurt too, or even die, like the Scouts did last time we fought the Negaverse. I just couldn't bear that. I had to stop that from happening, I `had' to. I thought I could get the pens, and get back, and everything would be all right. Stupid, huh?"

"How did you think you were going to get back?" Sailor Sol asked.

"I didn't," Sailor Moon answered. At the others horrified looks, she explained, "Not that! I didn't think about how I was going to get back, I thought I could go back the same way I came if it was too scary."

"But the portal closed," Crescent Moon said in a confused voice.

"Yes, but I didn't expect it to. I thought it would stay open from this side and only be closed from that side. I know, I know, if Raye was here she would say I was thinking like the meatball brained person I am. She'd be right too." She looked around at the others. "How did you get through anyway? I thought you couldn't open a portal without the Moon Crystal."

"I have a Moon Crystal too, remember?" Crescent Moon beamed. "We used that."

Sailor Moon suddenly yawned widely. "Sorry," she muttered, covering her mouth with one hand. "Fighting these guys really took a lot out of me."

"They did seem harder to kill than usual," Sailor Sol agreed. "Though admittedly, the ones we've been fighting lately have been wimps for the most part."

"In the first group I fought, before you guys showed up," Sailor Moon told them, "The head guy said they were stronger here than they were on Earth, and that we were weaker."

"That would explain a lot," Tuxedo Mask agreed. "It also means we'll have to be a lot more careful, and try to avoid fights wherever possible, which means avoiding the denizens."

"I don't mind," Sailor Moon said, smiling up at him.

"Is that surprising?" Crescent Moon asked with a grin, grabbing both of their hands as they walked down the corridor.

The family continued walking through the castle. Several times they had to fight groups of denizens, finding it just as difficult as it had been the first time. Many times, they found the route they took ended up as a dead end, or led into portions of the castle they weren't sure they wanted to go into.

"This place is a maze!" Sailor Moon complained around another yawn.

"I know what you mean," Sailor Sol agreed. "I don't know how we're going to find our way around here, and especially how we're going to find the pens."

Sailor Moon opened her mouth. "Don't even think about starting..." Tuxedo Mask told her.

She closed her mouth with a surprised expression, only to open it again with another yawn. "Sorry," she said, "I can't stop them. Not even for you, Muffin."

"Oh," it was Tuxedo Mask's turn to be embarrassed, "I thought you were going to say something about it being your fault we were here."

Crescent Moon giggled, but was interrupted by a yawn of her own. "I'm really tired, Mommy, Daddy," she said.

"I am too," Sailor Moon agreed.

"Think it's safe to stop for awhile?" Sailor Sol asked Tuxedo Mask. "I'm getting kind of tired myself."

"I mean we've been walking for hours," Sailor Moon started to whine quietly, "and I'm hungry."

"So am I, but do you really want to eat something that was cooked here?" Sailor Sol asked her.

Sailor Moon looked around at the slimy walls, and thought about the kinds of people that were living here. "Uh-uh," she muttered. "I don't think so, I'd rather go hungry."

"Ooh, the food `must' be bad," Crescent Moon teased.

"Brat," Sailor Moon grinned back. "Would you eat it? They probably eat worms and spiders, cooked with poisonous mushrooms and slime." Her stomach suddenly growled again, causing all of them to collapse into laughter.

"It doesn't seem to be bothering you," Sailor Sol grinned, before his own stomach's grumbling caused everyone to laugh again.

"Let's stop here," Tuxedo Mask said suddenly. They all looked up to find themselves in another dead end corridor. "At least we can defend it easily. Especially if one of us stays awake to keep watch."

"Stop?" Sailor Moon asked happily. "The only thing that would sound better than that is food."

"Poisonous spiders?" Crescent Moon asked, grinning. Then she stopped grinning. "What if there really are poisonous spiders?" she asked worriedly, "And other bugs that will try to crawl all over me when I sleep?"

"Then I'll keep them away," Sailor Moon said reassuringly. "I'll tell them mean old spiders that they can't touch `my' daughter, or her father will whack them with a rose."

"That's right," Tuxedo Mask smiled. "If any mean old spiders try to get anywhere near you, I'll whack them with a rose, or your uncle will cut them up with his sword. Now you lie down right here," he pulled off his cape, and laid it down on the hard rock, rolling up one side for a pillow. "And you sleep well, okay?" He kissed her on her forehead as she lay down.

"Okay Daddy," she said, fading off to sleep immediately.

"You too," Tuxedo Mask told Sailor Moon, pointing to the spot next to Crescent Moon.

"Where's my goodnight kiss?" she asked, puckering up. Sailor Sol turned away to give them their privacy, turning back when he was sure she was lying down on the makeshift bed.

"I'll take first watch," he said quietly to Tuxedo Mask.

Tuxedo Mask looked like he was about to argue, then just nodded, and laid down on the other side of Crescent Moon. Sailor Sol pulled out his sword, and sat with it across his knees, looking out into the semi-darkness of the tunnel. He never noticed when the semi-darkness of the tunnel was covered by the real darkness of the insides of his eyelids as he slid into sleep.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Mina was resting in the temple. Amy had given new collars to the cats, which were small communicators. Luna had asked her to make them, but she had already been working on them. Diana's had even been made so that when a message came in, her bell would ring. Apollo had a small communicator on a thong which fit around his neck, and blended into his feathers. All four of the guardians had had communicators, but they were bulky and couldn't be carried easily with them, allowing for missed messages. These new ones were much appreciated.

Luna and Diana were at home explaining where Serena was to her mother. "She went through on her own?" Ellen almost screeched before remembering the others in the house. "When that girl gets back, she's going to find that she's the one that's grounded for a month. How could she do such a thing, especially after the long talk she had with Reenie about it?"

"I don't know," Luna said in the same tone of voice, one that made Diana glad they weren't talking about her. "I'm going to have a long talk of my own with her when she gets back."

"And until they do, you want me to try to come up for a reason for the four of them to be gone overnight, and maybe even into tomorrow?" Ellen continued, a little calmer. "Serena and Reenie are easy enough, I'll just tell Ken that there's an important test coming up and she's spending the night with Amy so they can study, and Reenie went along to keep them company. Travis..." she thought for a long moment. "Darien's apartment isn't far from Amy's is it? Okay, so Travis also went to Amy's to study and then decided to stay at Darien's for the night."

"But tomorrow, that's another story. Do you really think that they'll be gone that long?" she asked the cats.

"There's no way of telling," Luna replied. "We know practically nothing about the Negaverse, so we don't know how long it will take them to get to the pens."

"All right," Ellen sighed. "If they're not back in the morning, I'll call the schools and say they're all sick. Since the principal knows about the way our family works, she'll accept my excuse for Travis, especially if I tell her that Jake is out of town. But this is it. This is the last time I'm going to lie to the families about it." She looked the cats in the eye. "I said I didn't have any right to decide what to tell the others, and I don't, but that includes lying to them. I won't tell them her secret, and if she doesn't tell them, that's hers, and the others of course, decision, but I'm not going to lie for them again. She's just going to have to worry everybody by disappearing."

"I'll tell her," Luna said quietly, knowing that Ellen was speaking nothing but the truth as she saw it.

Just then, the bell on Diana's new collar rang quietly and Luna's collar beeped slightly. As Ellen watched, the two cat's reached up and touched their collars. "Yes?" Luna asked.

Lita's voice came through clearly to the cat's ears, although Ellen had to listen close to hear anything at all. "There's a youma in the fabric store by the Starlight Tower. We've got to do something!"

"Like what?" Artemis' voice came through next. "Mina got seriously hurt last time a non-Scout tried to take on a youma remember?"

"Artemis!" Mina added her voice. "That's just because I wasn't careful. We've got to do something, you know."

"They're right," Raye said, "Mina and I are already on our way."

"So am I," said Apollo, followed quickly by Amy.

"We'll join you there," Luna said.

"Be careful," Ellen said as the two cats moved to the window. "I don't want to have to tell Serena or Reenie that something happened to you."

Diana paused to give her a reassuring purr before catching up with Luna at the window. Luna took a hold of her by the back of her neck and jumped for the nearest tree limb with the kitten hanging limply in her mouth.

By the time the four humans and four animals had reached the store, the youma had moved outside and was tearing up the cars, posts and trees lining the road.

"So what do we do?" Artemis said in a grouchy voice, not wanting Mina to be there.

Mina was standing strong, watching the youma as it destroyed things. No other humans could be seen, all either having fled minutes before, or lay on the floor of the store, drained. "Amy, can you find us a weak spot?" she asked intently.

"Maybe," Amy was already working at her computer, "but I think it will take a fight to really show it to us."

"Alright then," Mina had taken control, but no one except Artemis seemed to want to argue with her about it, and he was keeping sulkily silent. "We can't take it on with bare hands unless Raye can paralyze it."

Raye took out one of her anti-evil scrolls. "I'll certainly try," she agreed.

"I might be of more help than expected," Apollo said in his deep, gravely voice. As the others looked at him, he continued, "Sun falcons are taught to fight, although we usually have metal talons on the ends of our own for extra power, but even with my own, if I score on that thing, it's going to feel it." He turned to look at Artemis. "It seems to me that certain Lunar cats are taught the same thing."

"Yes, I know how to fight," Artemis agreed. "And it will be good to actually do something instead of always standing on the outskirts cheering everyone on."

Luna was looking at him in surprise. "What?" he asked. "You thought I was just a great body and a superb mind? If you'd accept my invitation to share a tuna dinner more often, you might know these things." He ran one paw along his whiskers smugly.

Luna's look turned to exasperation.

"You can fight, Papa?" Diana asked happily, missing the interplay between her parents.

"Yep, sport, I certainly can," he grinned as much as he could, twitching his ears.

"So," Mina said strongly, taking back control of the meeting. "Raye paralyzes the youma, and Lita, Artemis, Apollo, and I attack. Amy, as soon as you find a weak spot tell us! Raye, you can attack if you want, just be ready to hit him again if the scroll stops working. Luna, Diana, try to help Amy."

"But I want to fight too!" Diana said. "Like my Papa and Reenie!"

"No!" Luna and Artemis said at once. "You are not going to take a chance on getting hurt!"

"But..." Diana protested.

"NO! And that's final," Luna said. "Now I know how Serena feels when Reenie goes into danger," she muttered to herself.

"Are we ready?" Mina asked. The others nodded, their expressions tight but determined. "Then let's go, and, as Travis so often says, no speeches! We don't have the time."

Back in the Negaverse, Quartz skulked through the tunnels and secret tunnels trying to get from one end of the castle to the other without passing many people. Luckily, the few she did meet all knew her, and didn't know that she was supposed to be locked up. She was able to get a promise from all of them not to tell anyone they had seen her. Still, she knew that several of them would immediately head to their superiors to report her and so hurried out of those areas.

She walked down a corridor that had a secret door at the end, then stopped and stared. Lying there were Sailor Moon, Sailor Crescent Moon, and Tuxedo Mask. Sitting up by the wall was the yellow and gold Scout who was the only one never to introduce himself, but who she thought represented the Sun. *Not a very good lookout,* she thought sarcastically. Her next thought was, *_So, the rumors were true, they did come into the Negaverse. They could help me find my father,_* she thought for an instant. She started towards them, and then stopped. *_No,_* she decided, *_I can't take the chance that they'll attack me, or my father. I know that they're supposed to have honor, but... I can't trust them, not in this. Besides, Earth people might not understand honor like my father does. Even though... no, I can't._*

Since the Scouts were so close to the door, she was very careful to open it silently and not make a sound as she slipped inside. Then her eyes opened wide. Across from her, where there shouldn't have been a door, the bottom foot of the wall was sliding open, and a small denizen, snake-like wiggled through. It had arms and hands, but they seemed almost collapsed against the youma's body. *_A __slitherer,_* she thought, watching him. The slitherers, as they were commonly called, were a family of denizens who specialized in stealing. They seemed to have no bones in their bodies besides a completely flexible backbone, everything else seemed to be cartilage, allowing their hands to move into many different shapes, and their body composition allowed them to get into places normal denizens couldn't. The only reason they were still around was that they worked for the reigning monarch as well as themselves.

As Quartz watched, the youma reached out with one of those hands, and slowly, carefully touched the stone on the pommel of the yellow Scout. Quartz thought about making some noise and waking the Scout, but her common sense decided her against it. Instead, she just watched, as the slitherer gently pried the stone out of its setting. *_So,*_ she thought, *_Spessarite knows about the Sun Stone as well. That's not good._*

His detransforming woke Sailor Sol from his sleep and Travis jerked awake with a yell, waking the others as well, as the slitherer headed full speed back to the hole he had come through. The other three jerked awake as well, but it was too late. The slitherer had escaped through the hole, and it had closed behind him, leaving three superheroes and a normal human standing there dumbfounded.

"What happened?" Sailor Moon asked sleepily, looking at her detransformed brother.

"My Sun Stone," he said in a shocked and disbelieving tone. "That... that thing... it took my Sun Stone! I guess I had fallen asleep, and then I woke up because I felt something weird and... and saw it sliding through a hole in the wall while holding the Sun Stone, and I look down, and... and I'm like this."

"What do we do now?" Crescent Moon asked in a scared tone of voice.

As the Scouts woke up, Quartz had quickly closed her door as well, but not before she got a glimpse of the detransformed Scout of the Sun. "Travis?" she whispered in complete disbelief.

Okay, that's it for Chapter 9. What will the Scouts do about the missing Sun Stone? Will the girls be able to fight a youma by themselves? Find out next time. And don't forget to tell me what you think.


	11. Chapter 10

Hello everyone.

The only important thing to say is that I have a lot of people to thank and they're all at the bottom. Standard disclaimers and e-mail... you've heard it all before.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 10: A New Moon

"What do we do now?" Crescent Moon asked in a scared tone of voice.

Travis ran over to the place where the slitherer had gone through. "We have to get it back," he answered, trying desperately to find a trigger for the secret door.

"Stand back," Tuxedo Mask said. He pulled out several roses and threw them at the wall.

"We've got to get the Sun Stone back," Travis said again.

"We will," Sailor Moon answered. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" flew towards the wall that the roses had weakened, and they watched as it broke down. Looking through the destroyed wall, they saw several tunnels branching off, and no hint which one the snake like creature had gone through.

"Now what?" Tuxedo Mask asked, looking through all three tunnels. "We're not splitting up to search all of them, and it's extremely dangerous for Travis to be running around untransformed."

"Besides," Crescent Moon added. "How are we going to get back home?"

The others looked at each other for a long silent moment, wishing she hadn't brought that up.

The four Scouts tried to decide what to do. They looked closely at all of the corridors, but there was nothing to show which one the youma had gone down.

Travis looked around at the others. "If we don't get the Sun Stone back soon, you're going to have to leave me here. I'll just be a liability otherwise."

"No way," Sailor Moon disagreed vehemently. "We're not leaving you behind."

"She's right," Tuxedo Mask agreed. "There's no way we're leaving anyone behind."

"Too bad it wasn't the Crystal that was stolen," Sailor Moon mused. She noticed everyone was looking at her and shrugged. "Well that way we could use the Sun Stone to Duo and Reenie could Duo with Sailor Earth."

"Good idea, Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said, giving her a kiss before he detransformed.

"But we don't have the Sun Stone," Crescent Moon said confusedly. Then she shook her head. "Oh yeah," she muttered in an embarrassed tone, and detransformed herself. She walked over to her father, and he held out the hand wearing the Earth Gem.

"EARTH GEM POWER DUO!" they cried. Red, white, green, and blue lights flew from the gem and surrounded them. When the transformation finished, two Scouts stood there.

"Hey! I look like Sailor Jupiter," the younger one cried. Indeed she did, except for her boots. Her skirt and cape were green, while her bows and boots were pink. The green was darker than Jupiter's, and the pink was the same shade as her hair. "Why? I thought I was supposed to be an Earth Sailor."

"Well, green is the main Earth color," Sailor Earth suggested. "And pink just seems to be your color."

"It looks like your stuck with pink no matter what you try," Travis said teasingly.

"That's okay," the young Earth Sailor replied, tossing her pink hair, still up in its cones, back. "I happen to like pink."

"So do I," Sailor Moon smiled back. "It's my favorite color."

"Enough with the chit-chat," Travis grinned. "Shall we, Sis?"

"Let's," she said lightly, taking off her brooch and holding it towards him.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER DUO!" they cried. A hint of feathers and ribbons later, two red and blue Sailor Scouts stood in front of the others. The new, male, Sailor Moon's outfit was extremely similar to his Sailor Sol outfit, except what had been yellow was now red, and what had been gold was now blue. The only other differences that could be seen was his headband now sported a crescent moon, and his sword was belted on his right, and carried a moonstone in the hilt instead of a topaz.

"So?" the new Sailor Earth said eagerly. "What shall we call ourselves?"

"Why does it matter?" the new Sailor Moon answered. "We're going to be going back to our normal forms just as soon as we get my Sun Stone back."

"I want a name," she said stubbornly. "I guess I could be Sailor New Earth? Sailor Little Earth, nah... Hmm... Sailor Crescent Earth? Come on guys, help me out here," she said plaintively.

"How about Sailor Terra?" her uncle asked.

"Terra?" she asked. "It's pretty, but what does it have to do with Earth?"

"Terra is the official name for the Earth, like Sol is for the Sun," he explained.

"Then I'll be Sailor Terra," the newly named Sailor replied. "And you can use the official name for the Moon, okay?"

Sailor Moon burst into laughter, and Sailor Earth seemed to have a hard time keeping his own laughter contained as the younger boy glared.

"What?" Sailor Terra asked, confused.

"I don't think that's a name that works too well," he said, glaring at his sister who had collapsed to the floor in laughter.

She got hold of herself for long enough to gasp, "I think Sailor Luna is a perfect name for you!"

"Sailor Luna?" Sailor Terra asked, bursting into laughter of her own.

"I don't think I'll go with that one if you don't mind," the male sailor announced with offended dignity. A smile was tugging at his lips but he struggled to keep it away. "That's worse than Tranquility," he muttered to himself. He turned and started down one of the tunnels.

"Hey!" his sister yelled. "Where are you going? Wait up!" The other three hurried after him.

"Well," Sailor Terra said once they had caught up with him. "If you're not going to be Sailor Luna, how about Sailor Diana?"

Sailor Earth chortled and tried to convert it to a cough. His eyes were still twinkling madly as he made his own suggestion. "How about Sailor Artemis?"

Sailor Moon was still laughing. "How about Sailor Moonie?" she suggested.

"Loony or Lunatic would work better with you guys around," he muttered. "I hope we find the Sun Stone soon."

Sailor Moon had finally settled down and moved up next to her twin. She put an arm around his shoulders. "As a Sailor of the Moon, there are certain things you must know," she said seriously. He and the others stopped to look at her sober expression. "The most important is that you must always, always," she looked up to make sure he was paying attention and emphasized it again. "`Always' use a speech to introduce yourself before fighting." She took off running immediately with the second Sailor Moon right behind her.

Sailor Earth and Sailor Terra were left behind. "They're so silly," Sailor Terra said happily.

Sailor Earth smiled down at his future daughter. "Yes, they are," he agreed. His expression sobered quickly though.

"What's the matter?" Sailor Terra asked, noticing his sober expression and his quickening pace.

"I had forgotten for a moment, and I think they have too," he said. "That we're in the middle of the Negaverse, with a large number of youma wandering around."

"Oh, yeah," Terra agreed. Grabbing his hand, she broke into a run after the twins.

They found the two walking quietly back towards them and looking warily from side to side. Sailor Moon gave a sigh of relief when they met up and melted into Sailor Earth's embrace.

"We suddenly realized that running and playing as if we were back on Earth, was a really stupid thing to do," Travis explained.

"You're right, it was!" a voice said from behind them.

Quartz walked away from the door, her mind working furiously. The boy had been Travis Watson, she was sure of that even though she'd never met him personally.

Mentally, she looked through everything she knew about him. She stopped walking as her mind brought forth two pictures. *_With those balls on top of her head, his twin sister has `got' to be Sailor Moon! It's so obvious! No one else has that weird hairdo._*

"If I can..." she started to say and then subsided. Half of her wanted nothing more than to go back and ask... beg if necessary... for their help in finding and freeing her father. The other part, brought up in the harsh realities of Queen Beryl's rule, and learning early that no one except family could be trusted, won. Quartz kept walking.

She stopped once more in shock as she heard laughter. Her face softened. Laughter was practically unknown here except for mocking or cruel laughter. This wasn't. It was light-hearted and joyful, reminding her of when her family was together and sure they wouldn't be overheard.

She stood and listened for as long as she could hear the echoes. She smiled slightly and wondered what they could possibly find to laugh about here and now, after what had just happened.

When she started walking again, there was a bounce in her step and a smile tugging at the edge of her mouth. It lasted until she stepped into a corridor and ran into a squad of youmas.

"You're that person General Spessarite wants, aren't you?" the head youma asked as two others grabbed her arms.

Quartz didn't move as the youmas surrounded her. She looked the head youma in the eye. "I don't really care what General Spaghetti wants, I serve the Emperor directly. If you were not ordered by the Emperor's own voice, then you are skirting treason by impeding my progress." Her voice was low and sure, carrying all the weight of command. She knew the youmas had caught her reference. The Emperor's Own were an elite group of people, with almost the full authority of the Emperor if they felt it necessary to use it. In a way, they were the Inspector General's of the Kingdom, and they were not people that were messed with.

She knew as soon as she saw the grins when she called him Spaghetti, that it would be alright. General Spessarite's personal guard might very well dare to stop one of the Emperor's Own, but no one else would. And none of his guard would smile at someone using the derogatory nickname.

The youmas holding her started to loosen their grips on her arms. They had heard the rumors of what happened to people who messed with one of the Emperor's Own while they were on duty. And what happened to someone who impersonated one was much, much worse. In fact, it had only ever happened once.

"Wait a minute!" someone piped up from the back. "Look at how human she is. What if she's actually one of those Scouts everyone says are roaming around, and she's just `pretending' to be one of the Emperor's Own?"

Quartz jerked free of the hands holding her and stalked towards the one that had spoken. "And what if I am?" she asked wrathfully. "I could be Sailor Moon herself. Why don't you march me over to the Emperor and explain your idea to him. I'm sure he'd be very interested in it, as you explain it to him... from the bottom of the Pit!"

The youma backed away as Quartz bore down on him. "I could be Queen Serenity for all you know, but do you really want to face the consequences if I am exactly who I say I am?" She had backed the youma against the wall, and even though she was a foot shorter than him, she gave the impression that she was looming over him.

The others had prudently disappeared. They had no doubts that she was who she said she was, and had no intention in getting in a debate with her over her identity. The common consensus was, if Spessarite wanted her, he could come get her himself.

Quartz stood silently through the youma's groveled apologies, before turning and walking away without a word. The youma sighed and counted himself lucky to have gotten off so easily.

Several corridors away, the four Scouts looked around to find themselves surrounded by a squad of youmas.

"We've caught Sailor Moon!" one member of the squad growled excitedly.

Another one however, wasn't so sure. "If that's Sailor Moon, who are these others?" he asked in confusion. "There was supposed to be a guy in a tuxedo, and one in yellow and gold, and a little girl in blue and pink."

"Does it matter who the others are?" the first one growled back. "That's Sailor Moon, with two guys and a kid. And even if they're not the others that the General wants, they're trespassers."

"And trespassers we get to kill!" another spoke up. "It was only the four that were shown to us that we were supposed to keep alive, and only one of them is here, so we can kill the others."

"Yes!" "Good idea!" "Let's kill them!" came from all sides.

"Let's ask them," one said. "If they're not the one's we're supposed to capture, we can kill them."

Sailor Terra whispered to Sailor Earth, "Why would we tell them we weren't?" she asked in confusion.

The second Sailor Moon responded before he could, "Because they're stupid," he hissed. "I'm going to distract them, get ready to attack."

Sailor Earth nodded calmly, as did Sailor Moon. Sailor Terra was not so calm. "I don't know what my power is!" she said quickly.

"You'll figure it out," Sailor Earth told her as Travis stepped forward. He had already figured out his main power, a complement to Sailor Sun's solar wall. *_At least I have the Moon Sword so I can do some damage,_* he thought while he had time. *_And I have my name, even if it is kind of stupid. Still, __if I don't use it, they'd probably stick me with Sailor Luna_.* He shuddered internally.

"Who are you?" the head youma asked gruffly.

"I am," Sailor Moon started to say, before her brother's glare stopped her. *_This is not the time to complain about me making speeches,_* she thought rebelliously.

She stared at her twin in confusion as he smiled at her. "It's not your speech I was complaining about," he said. Her mouth opened in shock as he continued. "I just don't want you to ruin my distraction."

Sailor Earth moved up next to her. "What's the matter?" he asked quietly as her twin stood in front of the youmas.

"I... I didn't say anything," she said, still in shock. "Did I?"

"No," Sailor Earth said, looking at her worriedly. "Why?"

"He... he answered me," she said, looking up at him. "I didn't say anything, I just thought it! But... but he answered me. He... he must have read my mind!"

Sailor Earth started to explain that it was just because he knew her so well when Sailor Terra butted in. "You mean he hasn't before?" she asked casually. "You talk to each other that way lots of times, it can be really annoying, especially since you're usually talking about me, I know it."

Sailor Moon opened her mouth to say something else when her brother started talking and waving his hands in the air.

"I am the new Sailor of the Moon! I am the Sailor of the dark of the Moon, the New Moon! As the Moon goes in cycles, from darkness to light, so do I! As the New Moon enters the sky in darkness, it seems that it is not there, but I am there, though often I cannot be seen. I am Sailor New Moon! And in the name of the New Moon, I will punish you! NEW MOON DARKNESS SHIELD!" At those words, his hands moved in purposeful motion. He spread his arms wide, copying Sailor Sun's motions as she put up a wall of sun's fire. However, instead of fire, darkness spread across the tunnel. A darkness that absorbed what the youmas threw at it in panic.

"Anytime now!" New Moon gritted as he held the shield. The other Scouts had been standing there, totally shocked by the fact that he had not only made an introductory speech, but one that was even cornier than Sailor Moon's! Still, his words snapped the three out of their shock, and they got ready to fight once he dropped the shield.

Again copying Sailor Sun's moves from her first fight, Sailor New Moon pulled his arms in towards him, changing the shield into a cylinder around him.

"EARTH TECTONIC QUAKE!"

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

"TERRA DUST WHIRLWIND!"

The youmas found themselves on shaky ground as the small earthquake hit. It was followed closely by a disk of energy and a small whirlwind of dust and earth. Although the whirlwind didn't do much damage, it drove dirt and dust into the youmas eyes, and got into their way as they tried to attack. Sailor New Moon dropped his shield and pulled out the Moon Sword and went towards the youma.

Sailor Earth and Sailor Moon worked together, him sending them off of their feet, and occasionally injuring one of them in a fall of by rock shards, while she hit them with her tiara when they were down. Sailor New Moon went to help Sailor Terra, who was managing to keep her youmas distracted and blinded.

"MOON SWORD SLICE!" started the blade glowing with a white light, as he thrust, sliced and parried with the unblocked youmas.

"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" got called from the other group, helping to distract the youmas Terra and New Moon were fighting. Sailor Terra had started to concentrate the whirlwind on one youma, and when it finally faded out, that youma was lying unconscious in a pile of sand.

Sailor Moon finished off the other youmas, and the four joined up together again. "I'm proud of you," she grinned at her brother. "That was a good speech."

He shook his head. "It was awful," he remarked, "and it's not something I'm going to be doing again."

"But you were so good at it!" she wheedled.

He shuddered. "Only you could think so," he answered.

"I thought it was good too," Sailor Earth spoke up.

"Me too!" Sailor Terra chimed.

"You guys are weird," New Moon said shaking his head.

Sailor Moon was looking intently at one of the walls. *_What's that?_* she thought.

"What's what?" New Moon answered.

"Will you stop doing that?" Sailor Moon asked plaintively.

"Stop doing what?" Sailor New Moon was completely lost.

"Stop reading my mind like that," she answered.

"I can't read your mind!" New Moon said emphatically. "Occasionally I can tell what you're feeling, but I can't tell what you're thinking."

"You just did!" Sailor Moon answered. "I didn't say anything, did I?" she asked the others.

"I didn't hear her say anything," Sailor Earth responded.

"Nope," Sailor Terra said. "You read her mind. Don't worry, you guys will get better at it," she said and smiled.

The conversation might have gone on for longer if the noise of marching feet, coming from the opposite direction of the patrol they had just decimated, hadn't interrupted them.

Sailor Moon quickly led them to what she had been looking at. One of Sailor Earth's quakes had destroyed a wall, showing another passage behind it, and the four Sailors quickly moved into it.

Quartz quickly ducked behind a nearby column as another youma patrol went by. Since the word came that Sailor Moon was definitely within the castle, the number of patrols had more than tripled, and they had become much warier. Quartz had watched from her hiding place behind one of the moving panels, as two patrols fought each other simply because one had a human looking denizen with yellow hair.

She knew that with the tension as high as it was now, not even the fact that she was one of the Emperor's Own would keep a patrol from trying to capture her. *_There is no way I'm going to be able to get to my father with `them' here!_* she thought rebelliously. Her thoughts turned calculating. *_My choices are two, I can either wait until they get into a major fight where most of the youmas are pulled to it and hope to get to Father then, or I can help them get out of here._*

Quartz found a small alcove hidden from all but the most thorough searches, and sat down to think. *_By now, they have to know I'm gone. Yes, that last youma did say that I was the one General Spessarite wanted, so they do know I'm gone. That means they should know I'm going for my father. Now, Spessarite's overconfident, but he's not dumb. He has to know I'm planning on using the Scouts' presence as a distraction. If a big fight breaks out... especially if it looks like I had anything to do with it... then he would... would what? Kill him? No, not if he wants to get any use out of him. He'd have to at least double the guards, maybe even more. There's no way the two of us can fight that many youma. I could try to get the Scouts to help me free him, but that would bring even more denizens, and more of a chance of him getting hurt._*

*_So... I've got to either kill them, or get them out of the Negaverse. Killing them's pretty much out of the question, even if I could. Just leading them to an exit wouldn't work either, even if they would follow me, which would mean letting them see me. Besides, they came for the transformation pens, and I doubt they'll leave without them. So... how can I lead them to the pens, without letting them see me?*_

Quartz absently got up, and, still keeping in the shadows, headed towards the throne room by the most secret way she knew. She managed to make it to one of the spy holes in the side of the chamber and look in. "Father!" she gasped, almost audibly. There sat her father, on the throne, in front of the court, with not a sign of Spessarite around and the four transformation pens on a cushion in front of him.

He was speaking, "Try to catch Sailor Moon alive! I want her groveling here before me within the next four hours. Also, my agent, Quartz, has turned against us and is wandering the castle. She might even be helping the Sailor Scouts. Find her!"

"Father," Quartz said in an agonized whisper. "What have they done to you? How could you say something like that?"

"Now go!" the Emperor ordered. Within minutes the room had cleared. The Emperor hit a button on the throne, and the illusion of an immense cavern disappeared, and so did the illusion of Emperor Rhyolite. Instead, Spessarite now sat in the throne.

Quartz sighed in relief at the sight. The idea that they had already brainwashed her father had scared her more than she would admit. She watched from her hiding place as Spessarite left, leaving the throne room empty. *_This is too easy,_* she thought. Still, she opened the door and carefully walked out into the room and over to the pens. She checked the stand they were on. Nothing. Not a sign of a trap, either physical or magical. Carefully, slowly, she picked up the four pens. Again, there was nothing. No alarm, no guards jumping out of the walls, nothing.

*_I `don't' like this!_* she thought fiercely. It was too much of a set up, too easy. With a sudden movement, she put them back, turned and left the way she came. Still, there was no sound, no sign of any problem, just the pens, lying there on their cushions.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the five fighters started moving quietly towards the youma.

"Hold up," Lita said quickly. She points to one of the people lying on the ground. Unlike most of the others, this one had not been totally drained into unconsciousness and was stirring faintly. "We need to get her out of here."

"If she sees us fighting, she might make some connections," Raye agreed.

Apollo looked closely at the stirring figure. "Besides," he said, "Travis would never forgive us if she got hurt by standing up in the middle. That's Crystal."

The three girls quickly carried the semi-conscious girl to one side, where she was out of the way and out of sight, while Amy quickly checked her over. "She's going to be fine," Amy said. "It looks like she got drained at the same time as everyone else, but her body is regenerating energy faster than usual. So she'll be awake earlier."

"This is all very interesting," Mina said authoritatively, "but we have a youma to fight. Are you ready?" The five fighters nodded and started to move towards the youma again.

Raye pulled out one of her anti-evil charms and started to chant over it as Apollo dive bombed the youma. As the youma turned and tried to hit the falcon out of the sky, Raye threw the charm at his back. "Evil Begone!" she ordered. The youma screamed in pain, but found itself unable to move. As the human Scouts ran towards it, Raye readied another and threw it so that it stuck to the youma's face. "That should keep it still for a while," she said confidently.

Mina and Lita jumped to the attack. Mina went for the youma's head in a jump kick as Lita went for his middle with a flurry of kicks and punches. Artemis headed for his ankles, and managed to set himself in place just in time. The attack by the girls sent the youma tumbling over backwards, Artemis' tripping him just adding to his loss of balance.

Raye yelled out, "No, don't!" as he went over, and watched in horror as what she expected happened. The youma's back hitting the ground knocked the charm off of it, as Mina's high kick knocked off the one on his face.

"Uh, oh," Mina said, as the youma lost its paralysis and started to move, "Maybe we should have thought this through a little better?"

The girls, falcon, and cat backed away, trying to give themselves some space away from the reviving youma.

"Any suggestions, Amy?" Lita called as Raye pulled out another charm.

"I still don't have enough information!" Amy called back as she and Luna continued working furiously on the little computer.

On a rooftop a block away, Darien Jacobson stared in disbelief through the view finder on his camera. He had watched the Sailor Scouts go through numerous battles against youma with calm and detachment, worrying about nothing but getting a perfect shot. This, however, filled him with a sense of dread. Four girls, with no superpowers whatsoever, were trying to fight a youma by themselves. Not only that, but these were four girls he knew! Friends of Travis who were often around the mansion.

He watched in horror as the youma headed towards the girls. Without a thought for his expensive equipment, he ran for the stairs, determined to help if he could.

The girls in question had gathered for a quick conference. When it ended, Apollo once more dive bombed the youma. Lita ran at him as he was trying to defend himself from the falcon. With a burst of strength, she picked up the youma and threw it at a nearby wall. Artemis headed for its face and managed to get in several good swipes before being batted away.

"Papa!" Diana called from the sidelines. She started to head towards her father, but her mother picked her up in her mouth and put the kitten in front of her, with a paw on her to make sure she didn't move.

Raye was standing in the middle of the courtyard, seemingly not paying attention to anything as Mina headed towards the besieged youma. She looked around quickly for some kind of weapon, and picked up a large piece of stone laying nearby.

"Watch out!" Amy yelled. "I'm getting an energy surge!"

The Scouts quickly backed away as the youma started to raise its hands to attack in some way they hadn't seen yet. Mina and Raye were the only ones still standing in its line of fire. Raye was too busy trying to gather her power without her normal focus of the Great Fire, to notice what was going on around her. Mina hefted the stone she was carrying as she stared at the youma. He gloated as he moved towards the two motionless girls and finished raising his hands. Instantly, Mina pulled back and threw. The rock slammed into the youma's head as it discharged, and caused his energy ball to go upwards at an angle instead of towards the girls.

Lita let out a yell of delight that turned into a yell of horror. The energy ball headed straight to, and through, a local powerline, snapping it. The power of the local stores went out as the live powerline headed for the ground, and Mina who was just standing there, shocked into motionlessness.

Apollo dived for the line, trying to grab it in his talons before it hit her. Everyone else headed for the spot as well, even Raye snapping out of her trance.

Mina turned and tried to run from the falling powerline when she was suddenly tackled out of the way.

"Thanks, Lita," she said in relief, before she realized that the body holding her down was far larger than her friends. She turned, slowly, and stared in disbelief at the face that is shown. "Mr. Jacobson?" she asked hesitantly.

"What are you girls doing out here?" he asked sternly as he helped Mina to her feet. "You shouldn't be anywhere near here, much less trying to fight a monster! That's what the Sailor Scouts are for!"

"Well, the Sailor Scouts aren't here," Lita said as she came up to them. "We are, we have to help."

"Didn't I hear something about Mina getting hurt because she tried to help? It looks like it almost happened again!" Jake was angry, mostly because he had been scared watching the fight.

"OW!" Amy suddenly yelled. As everyone looked over at her she blushed. "Sorry, Diana just bit me and it surprised me." She bent down to pick up the kitten. "What's the matter?" she hissed once Jake's attention was taken up by the other girls.

"I'm sorry," Diana whispered, "But I had to get your attention. I was watching Papa instead of Mina, and I saw the youma when the line came down. He didn't like the electricity at all. He got away from it, fast."

Amy looked at the kitten for a moment before turning back to her computer and inputting that information. She looked up with bright eyes, "You're right, Diana. He is vulnerable to electricity. Now... if there was only some way to..." she looked around as she was talking, and her eyes lit upon the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. "That will work," she muttered. "Everyone!" she called. "I have it!"

Raye, Mina, and Lita looked up from where they were arguing with Jake and Artemis hobbled over from where he had been laying. Diana got down to check him over and make sure he was alright. Apollo also flew down and landed on Lita's shoulder.

Jake walked over as well, but this time he was staring at Apollo. "Before you say anything," he said authoritatively, "I want to know why you're fighting here, why Apollo is here, and where is Travis since he's supposed to be studying with you?"

Mina looked back at the youma who was on his feet and heading towards them. "No time," she said, "Amy, what do you have?"

"Electricity," Amy answered. "It's his weakness. If we can shock him..."

"Yeah, but Sailor Jupiter's not here," Lita put in.

"No, but `that' is," Amy pointed to the hanging wire that was still sparking at one end, obviously live.

"So you want us to lure him into the wire?" Raye asked. "I don't think we'll be able to do that."

"No," Amy replied. "Lure him there." She pointed to the fountain. "We have to get the end of the wire into the water after he gets in. And whoever lures him in there, had better not be in there at the time."

Apollo opened his beak and screeched. Lita nodded, "And the wire's mine. Among other things, I'm the only one wearing shoes with rubber soles."

"Agreed," Mina said. "Be careful, both of you."

"Wait a minute!" Jake said. "You are `not' going to do this, it's too dangerous! And what is this with Apollo? I'll admit he's a smart bird, but he had no idea what you were saying!"

"Just watch," Mina said with a smile. "Raye, get one of your charms ready. We don't want him getting out of the fountain once he's in. Amy, you'd better be right about this. I don't think that youma will give us any more chances if we mess this up."

"It'll work," Amy said, watching carefully as Lita moved unobtrusively towards the wire and Apollo got ready to dive-bomb the youma again.

Suddenly, Apollo let out a piercing shriek and headed for the youma's face, getting in several good slashes with his talons before frantic wingbeats took him back into the air. With an unintelligible roar, the youma tried to grab him, then set himself for an energy blast.

"Apollo! Watch out!" the girls and one of the cats cry. Luckily, Darien Jacobson doesn't hear the cats voice in amongst the others.

Apollo backwinged furiously, stalling his climb enough for the energy blast to pass right by him, then heading for the fountain again, the youma following.

With a great deal of care, Lita grabbed the live powerline. Her rubber soled shoes, and natural immunity to her own element protected her from getting shocked as she carried it towards the fountain. Raye also moved up, pulling out one of her last charms.

Apollo landed on the top of the fountain and preened there, annoying the youma even more. Without hesitation, he stepped into the water. Once both his feet were in there, the others acted. Apollo shot off of the top of the fountain even as Raye was yelling out, "Evil Begone!" The youma was turning at the time, and the charm only got one of its arms. Raye frantically reached for another even as Lita reached the fountain and threw the wire into the water. The girls, animals and Jake watched as the lightning fried the youma, and it collapsed into dust.

"Yes!"

Sailor Moon led the other three into the new corridor. They followed it until it branched. From one branch came the sound of guttural voices, arguing furiously. Without consulting each other, the Scouts turned down the other branch.

Three more times they reached branches, and always there was only one corridor from which no sounds came. "I don't like this," Sailor Earth said quietly. "It feels like we're being herded. We've heard a lot of noise, but not seen a single youma since we entered this tunnel."

"Maybe we've just been lucky," Sailor Moon said. She was tired, and very hungry, and not in the mood to deal with questions like this. "What do you suggest we do? Go down tunnels where we know there are guards and fight again? I really don't want to do that, I'm so tired."

"No, I'm not suggesting we do that," Sailor Earth said soothingly. He gave Sailor Moon a hug, and then Sailor Terra one because she looked like she needed it. "I'm just saying that we need to be careful, because we might be heading into a trap."

"He's right, Sis," New Moon said. "We do have to be careful."

"We can do that," Sailor Terra spoke up, "I really don't want to fight anymore tonight either though."

"I know, little one, I know," Sailor Earth said, picking her up. "How about you ride for a while munchkin, okay?" He swung her up onto his shoulders and they continued on their way.

Several hundred feet ahead of them, a small light glowed from the floor. As they got closer, they realized it was the outline of a door. Sailor Moon carefully opened the door and peeked through. On the other side was an empty room with a throne and... and there, sitting in front of the throne, on a cushion, were the pens! "There they are!" she said, running into the room and too the pens before anyone could stop her. As she picked up the pens, pieces of the wall, all over the room disappeared, to show squads of youmas standing behind them.

"Oh, no, what do we do now?" Sailor Moon asked in terror.

Sailor Earth quickly set Sailor Terra down and he and Sailor New Moon set themselves on either side of the girls.

"I guess you don't get your wish, Sailor Moon," New Moon spoke gravely. "We're definitely going to have to fight."

The youmas attacked with a roar. "NEW MOON DARKNESS SHIELD!" New Moon called out, blocking the back. "TERRA DUST WHIRLWIND!" "EARTH TECTONIC QUAKE!" "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" flew out to all sides. Sailor Terra managed to keep her side distracted and blinded, her whirlwind almost picking some youmas up and turning them around so they hit their neighbors, and blinding others so they couldn't tell what they hit. Sailor Moon had a half a dozen tiaras in the air at one time and occasional commands to stardust or trap kept her side fairly clear. Sailor Earth's quakes kept his side off balance while doing some damage of his own.

Still, there were too many youma. New Moon's shield was the only effective one, but he was running out of power fast and the others were backing towards him as their own attacks were unable to keep the youma at bay. New Moon started moving as well, hoping to put them close enough to a wall that it would protect their backs and they would only have to worry about the hundreds of youmas coming from the other three sides. As he got closer to the wall he chose, he saw a small door, slightly open.

Quartz had left the room, but hurried back when she heard the noise. Looking through the spy hole, she saw the four Scouts under attack, and new she had been right about the pens being too easy. She shook her head over the fact that Spessarite was going to have the Scouts soon, and there was nothing she could do about it. Then she noticed the four heading towards the wall she was looking through. In a split second decision, she opened the door slightly, and ran down the hallway.

"There's a door," New Moon said urgently. "If we can get through it, we might have a chance."

Sailor Earth threw a glance towards the door. It was a mistake. In that moment of distraction, a youma lashed out with a tentacle and grabbed for him. Looking back in time, Sailor Earth threw up a hand to block him, and watched in disbelief as the large opal was knocked out of his ring. "The Earth Gem!" Darien cried, even as he pulled out a ring and transformed into Tuxedo Mask.

Sailor Moon moved instantly in front of a suddenly defenseless Reenie. "We've got to get out of this dimension!" she cried.

"But the Earth Gem," Tuxedo Mask said.

"And the Sun Stone," Sailor New Moon added.

"Besides, we can't get out of here without them!" Reenie cried.

"We can't leave you defenseless either!" Sailor Moon cried. With New Moon still covering them as best he could, Sailor Moon swept up Reenie and jumped through the door.

Tuxedo Mask tried for the Earth Gem, but as the youmas noticed how important it seemed to him, they passed it backwards until there were over a hundred youmas between Tuxedo Mask and his stone. Looking at his blood brother, he could see how hard holding the shield had become and, with a regretful look towards the Earth Gem, ducked through the doorway.

Sailor New Moon followed, and slammed the door shut behind him.

"What do we do now?" he asked tiredly.

"Find out where this tunnel goes, I guess," Sailor Moon said, equally tired.

"I can still fight," Reenie spoke up. "If I'm scared I can still form the moonbeam, and it works as a weapon."

"Too uncontrollable," Tuxedo Mask spoke up. "We're either going to have to find the Sun Stone and Earth Gem, or find a way out."

"I vote for the second one," Sailor Moon said. "We have the pens and I'm sure Amy will be able to find us another way in. When the team is full up again, we'll come back for the stones."

New Moon was staring at something down the tunnel. *_What's that?_* he thought intently.

"What's what?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Mommy," Reenie said, and grinned slightly, "he didn't say anything."

Sailor Moon looked at her in shock and then looked at her twin who nodded agreement. "I didn't say anything," he said softly, "I just thought it."

"Neat," Sailor Moon said. "What's what?" she asked again.

Everyone stared at her. They had expected more than a `neat' but she was too tired, scared and hungry for even that to have much impression.

New Moon looked down the tunnel again. "I could swear I saw... there's someone there!" He headed out at a run, and Tuxedo Mask swept Reenie up onto his shoulders again as he and Sailor Moon set out after him.

Quartz, who had been standing in the turning, saw them running towards her and realized she'd been seen. She ran down the corridor, but waited at the turning until sure New Moon could see her. She then started running again. In that way, and without letting more than a boot heel be seen most times, she led them to the transportation room, and ran out one of the many doors leading out of the room without letting New Moon catch sight of her this time.

She watched as the Scouts reached the room and looked around in confusion.

"What is this place?" Reenie asked as her father put her down.

"I don't know," he answered absently, looking closely at one of the pods. He seemed to be struggling with a memory.

"Where did she go?" New Moon asked, more interested in the person he had been chasing then the room they were in.

"How do you know it was a she?" Sailor Moon asked. "And why does it matter?"

"I just know," New Moon said. "She looked like..." he trailed off, but his mind completed the thought. *_Crystal?_*

"Looked like?" Sailor Moon asked. "You never got more than a glimpse of her. If it was a her."

"Teleportation!" Tuxedo Mask suddenly burst out. The others turned to stare at him, but he was still looking at the pod. "These were used for teleportation to Earth. This is how we can get out of here!"

Quartz sighed in relief as he figured it out, and watched the four leave for Earth. *_Now, with them out of the way, maybe I can actually make some progress. Of course, I wouldn't have bothered leading them here if it wasn't on the way to where I was going anyway,*_ she thought. With that she headed down her current corridor.

I would like to thank Douglas Helm, Moondreamer, Sailor Ice Blade, Kahley, Julia H., Mako, Carolyn, Joe, Cassandra, CyanSword, Pisces6 and Michael for suggestions on powers and names for Travis and

Reenie. And always Doug and Will for suggestions on how to make the Chapter better.


	12. Chapter 11

Hello all!

By now you know what goes here almost better than I do, so pretend it's here, okay?

Sailor Moon Universal

Chapter 11:

"YYYEEEAAAHHH!" Sailor Moon yelled as the four stepped through the teleportation pod and ended up back on Earth. "We did it!" she yelled, holding up the four transformation pens. She quickly detransformed and swept a cheering Reenie around into a hug. Serena ran over to a still sober Tuxedo Mask and Sailor New Earth and kissed them on their cheeks. "What's the matter?" she asked, grinning. "We did it, we got them back, why aren't you happy?"

"We might have gotten the transformation pens back," New Earth said before detransforming, "But I think the price was too high."

"What do you mean?" Reenie asked in confusion.

Tuxedo Mask detransformed as well and Darien looked soberly at his daughter. "We lost the Sun Stone and the Earth Gem, Reenie," he reminded her, "and without them we can't even go back into the Negaverse to get them."

"Can't we..." Serena started a little more solemnly, motioning to where they had stepped through. "Oh, yeah, I forgot it couldn't be used both ways." Her expression became dejected, but then lightened again as her gaze fell on the pens in her hand. "But now that we've gotten these back, Mercury will be able to figure out a way."

"Serena," Darien sighed.

Serena looked up at him. "She will," she said seriously.

"Maybe she will," Travis said. The others looked at him. "Until it's proved otherwise, I'll believe that she can. It's better than the alternative."

"It'll be alright, Uncle Travis," Reenie piped up. "If this is why nobody fought, then we've already changed the future back to the way it should be and you'll have the Sun Stone and Earth Gem back in the future."

"So," Serena spoke up. "Let's call and ask her, okay? We should tell everyone we're back, and then they can use their pens, and they'll all feel a lot better."

Without giving time for anyone to answer, Serena raised her communicator and hit the all call button.

Several blocks away, Jake stood there, still lecturing the girls on what a stupid thing they had done, when he was stopped by all of their watches going off at once. Artemis' and Luna's collars beeped quietly, as did Apollo's. Diana's bell rang softly.

Mina barely kept herself from yelling in delight. Looking around, she could see the same response on every face. The only people that had communicators and weren't already here were Serena, Travis, and Darien. For the communicators to be ringing, they had to be back, hopefully safely, and with the pens and Sailor Moon.

"Was there somewhere you were supposed to be?" Jake asked critically as he heard the watches go off.

Luna snuck away and answered. "Serena?" she asked hopefully.

"Hi Luna!" Serena's voice came through clearly. "We're back, `and' we've got the pens!"

"All of you?" Luna asked anxiously, "And no one hurt?"

"All of us," Serena agreed, "and we're all fine... Well, except for... I'll explain when we meet," she said, worrying Luna. "Do you know where the others are? I was expecting more than just you to answer. Has... has something happened?"

Luna quickly explained everything that had happened, from the youma showing up, to Jake's continuing lecture on the danger of fighting youmas. "He's been asking where you are," Luna finished.

"I have an idea," Darien's voice came through. "We'll be there soon, with a reason for not being around."

Darien put down his communicator and looked at the clock in the middle of the park. "Almost ten, we're going to have to hurry," he said, heading quickly out of the park.

"Almost ten?" Reenie asked in surprise, "No wonder I'm so tired," she yawned, proving her statement. The yawning proved contagious, and Serena and Travis found themselves covering yawns of their own as the three moved after Darien.

"An ice cream parlor?" Serena said in a surprised tone, looking at the building Darien was heading for. Then a smile grew on her face. "How did you know I'd like some ice cream, muffin?" she said, running up and attaching herself to Darien's arm.

"This isn't for you, Meatball Head," he grinned. "It's to explain where we've been." The ice cream parlor was about to close when the four stepped in, and the manager didn't seem too happy at the thought of customers. Darien gave him his best smile. "We just decided to have a kind of moonlight party down by the lake, is there any way we can just buy some of the unfinished containers of ice cream to take with us?"

The manager's face lost its cross expression. These people not only weren't going to stay, but he wouldn't even have to scoop out ice cream for them. "Certainly," he said immediately. "However, the price can only be estimated without weighing the containers or scooping out the ice cream."

"That's fine," Darien told him. "I'd like that half empty container of Neapolitan please."

Serena was tugging at his arm and looking longingly at one particular container. Reenie wasn't saying a word, but her eyes were staring at another. Darien blanched slightly when he saw which one. "How can you eat that, Reenie?" he asked. He turned back to the manager. "Let me have the triple chocolate and the bubblegum as well. Bubblegum," he muttered. "Why anyone would like bubblegum ice cream, I just don't know."

"Because it's good," Reenie beamed as the manager handed her the mostly empty container to carry. "And it's fun to chew the bubblegum afterward."

"Um... guys? We're going to be late if we don't get the ice cream and go," Travis reminded them.

"Right," Darien replied. "How much is it going to be?" he asked the manager, reaching for his wallet. He opened it to pay to find only three dollars left in it. His mind went back to buying Serena lunch, and his face started to get red as he realized he already spent his money.

Travis wanted to enjoy his blood brother's discomfiture for a while longer, but he also wanted to reassure his guardian that he was alright. As Darien started to explain that he didn't have the money, Travis reached around him and paid the bill.

Serena picked up the tub containing the triple chocolate as Travis grabbed the bag of cones and scoop that they had also ordered. "Cold!" she exclaimed, handling the container carefully.

"What did you expect?" Travis asked her laughingly, leading them out of the store. "It's ice cream. Did you think it would be hot?"

The four cheerfully argued as they headed towards the others. The loss of the Sun Stone and Earth Gem were weighing heavily on the two boys, but they let themselves be lulled into the girls' optimism for a while.

As they reached the almost destroyed section of shops, they saw the others already there. "Uncle Jake!" Travis called out. "What are you doing here? And what happened?"

"Travis!" Jake called back in relief. "Where have you been?"

"We went to get the ice cream," Serena told him, holding up her container.

"I thought we were supposed to meet at the lake," Darien said to the other girls. "Did something happen here?"

"Yes something happened," Jake said immediately. "There was a youma attacking and these girls decided to fight it."

"You fought a youma?" Serena asked with wide eyes. "By yourself? I mean, without even a Sailor Scout to help? That's so cool!"

"Yep," Lita exclaimed. "Seems the thing didn't like electricity, and we shocked it until it disintegrated."

"Don't say it like it was a good thing!" Jake turned toward her. "You could have gotten hurt! Because the Scouts didn't show up, you could have been hurt."

"Because the..." Travis started in surprise. "Uncle Jake, you can't blame them for not showing up, they can't be everywhere."

"If they had been here, these girls wouldn't have had to take the chances they did. They should have been here."

"Why?" Travis asked him. "You've been trying to figure that out for months. There's nothing that says they have to be here when there's a youma. And if they aren't, if there is some reason they can't be, then whoever's around that thinks they can fight, should."

"Are you saying that you would fight if you saw a youma?" Jake asked.

"Of course we would Uncle Jake," Serena put in. "We're taking martial arts classes, we can help."

"It's not your job to fight! The Scouts should have been here."

"Why? So you could get pictures of them?" Travis asked bitingly.

"Travis!" Serena said in shock.

Jake looked in much the same condition. "Is that what you think?" he asked quietly once he could think again.

Travis sighed and shook his head. "No, I don't. I'm sorry. It's just... forget it."

"Travis," Jake said intently, "have I been ignoring you again? I have, haven't I? I stay here so I can spend more time with you and instead get so caught up in the story..."

"No!" Travis interrupted. "Of course you haven't been ignoring me! I just... I don't know how to explain it. It's like you're becoming obsessive about finding out anything you can about the Sailor Scouts."

"Does it seem that way to you?" Jake asked softly. "I'm a reporter, I don't like secrets, and the Sailor Scouts are the biggest secret in Tokyo right now."

"People usually have secrets for good reason, Uncle Jake," Travis drew himself up. Several feet away, Serena drew in her breath sharply as she realized what he was going to do. She searched her mind frantically for some way to stop him.

"You want to know a secret, Uncle Jake?" Travis asked. As Jake looked at him, Travis continued, "I have a secret, do you want to hear it?"

Not too far away, Crystal held her breath and leaned forward. *_He's going to say he likes me!_* she thought gleefully. *_Of course, he should be telling me, not them, but that's alright._*

Crystal had recovered from the draining in time to watch the destruction of the youma, and stayed in her out of the way spot as Darien Jacobson lectured the four girls. Not that she quite understood why he was lecturing them, after all, they `had' won.

"The ice cream's melting," Serena spoke up, almost frantically. "Why don't we continue this over ice cream down by the lake?"

"Go on without me," Travis said, not taking his eyes from his uncle's.

"You've got the cones," Serena reminded him, coming up next to him. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.

Travis handed her the bag containing the cones and scoop. "I think you know," he murmured.

"Yes, I know, but why? You're the one who said not to tell him because you thought he'd print it! Why are you going to take the chance now?"

Crystal leaned forward to try to better hear what was going on. Travis had been about to speak when Serena stopped him. *_Oh, come on! Why don't you want him to say it?_* Crystal thought. Inadvertently, she leaned against a nearby trash can and it tipped over, falling with a resounding crash.

Travis closed his mouth and turned around when he heard the clatter. "Crystal!" he said in disbelief, hurrying towards her.

Raye sidled up next to Serena. "He wasn't really going to tell, was he?" she asked softly.

"He said he was," Serena told her, looking worriedly after her brother. "But I didn't have time to find out why."

"Crystal," Travis said, helping her up. "What are you doing here?"

"That awful youma took my energy," Crystal told him, pretending to still be weak. Travis automatically put his arms around her to steady her.

"Maybe I should try that some time," Lita remarked in a stage whisper. "I didn't know acting weak and wobbly worked so well."

"It depends on the boy," Mina replied with a grin. "Most boys aren't as gallant as Travis."

"Oh, Darien's pretty good at it," Raye and Serena said together. Serena stuck her tongue out at Raye.

"At least with her around, he's not going to blurt out anything," Serena continued in a more serious tone.

"The ice cream's melting," Reenie said sadly.

Jake had followed Travis over to Crystal so Serena suggested, "Let's go ahead and go to the lake so you can get your pens back."

"You got them?" Amy asked as they started to move.

"Yep, I sure did," Serena answered proudly. Reenie turned to glare at her. "I mean," she corrected herself, "`we' got the pens back." She looked around, "I expected you guys to ask about that first."

"Well," Mina smiled slightly, "we now know that we can fight a youma without our powers if we have to."

"Besides, if we had asked, we probably would have started arguing about how stupid you were to go into the Negaverse alone and Mr. Jacobson would have heard us," Amy's voice was as calm as ever, but something in it told Serena she was angry.

"I agree," Lita added. "We would probably have started to talk about how worried we were to think of you there alone. We might even have started to talk about all the things we imagined happening to you."

Serena's expression was dejected. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, a tear seeping down her cheek. "I didn't mean to worry everyone."

"We're not the only ones you should be apologizing to," Raye reminded her.

Serena stopped, bent over, and picked up Luna. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry for being so foolish. Will you forgive me? Please? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

"I don't think I'm the one you need to apologize to," Luna told her severely. "Although, I do want to know `everything' that happened, including exactly why you felt the need to go in there alone in the first place!" Luna was almost shouting, and took a deep breath to try to calm down. "Your mother is practically worried sick. She also said that she wouldn't cover up like that for you again."

Serena looked as if she was on the verge of tears. She looked at Darien for help, but his face was expressionless, remembering vividly his own worries about her. "I didn't mean to worry her; I just didn't think," she said in a small voice.

"Is that a surprise?" Raye asked. "You don't ever seem to think."

"I know you gave Reenie a long lecture on responsibility and not jumping into dangerous situations, but you seem unable to follow your own advice," Amy remarked.

"Yeah," Lita agreed. "Even I know there are some things you can't tackle by yourself. The Negaverse is definitely one of them."

"I was really worried too," Diana said in a soft voice from her perch on top of Reenie's head. "And Mama almost cried."

Luna looked uncomfortable as Artemis and the others turned to stare at her.

"Luna?" Serena asked contritely. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"I know you didn't mean to," Luna snapped, not liking having her private thoughts out in the open. "But the fact remains that because you, as you put it, didn't think, you did something stupid and extremely irresponsible and dangerous!"

"Why are you all being so mean?" Serena asked in a small voice.

"Because you scared us to death!" everyone else shouted. Serena shrunk back.

"In fact," Raye said, reaching over and taking the container of ice cream from her. "I don't think you should get any ice cream after the stunt you pulled."

"But... but..." Serena said, "But we got the pens!" She pulled them out. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

Mina grabbed the orange one, barely beating out hands reaching for their own transformation wands. "VENUS STAR POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!" and "JUPITER STAR POWER!" echoed the others. Amy had her mouth open to speak, but was instead staring at Mina.

Mina was staring at the inactive transformation stick. She looked around to find Raye and Lita detransformed as well.

"What happened?" Darien asked after a moment.

"Nothing," Lita answered. "I didn't feel anything."

Mina suddenly gave a low cry as her pen seemed to implode. She opened her hand, and they watched in silence as a stream of dust fell to the ground. Raye and Lita's followed.

Amy quickly pulled out her computer and did a scan of the last remaining pen. "It's a counterfeited one, a fake," she said quietly.

Serena burst into tears. "It's not fair!" she wailed. "We fought so hard! We lost the Sun Stone and the Earth Gem, but I thought at least we had the pens. At least we had the pens!" Serena's tears turned into wracking sobs.

Darien and Reenie hurried over to her as the others hovered around worriedly.

Serena threw herself into Darien's arms. "I was so scared! And hungry, and tired! But I thought if we found the pens, everything would be okay again! But we didn't, and it's not, and it's just not fair!"

"Shh," Darien murmured. "It's alright. We'll get everything back, and we haven't lost any of the important things."

"How can you say that when we lost the Earth Gem?" Serena hiccuped.

"Look around," Darien ordered gently.

Serena looked up into the worried faces of her friends.

"We haven't lost anything important," Darien said again. "Everyone is safe and well, and that's the most important thing."

"I guess you're right," Serena sighed, although she didn't sound totally convinced.

Reenie suddenly left the circle that had gathered around Serena and then burrowed her way back through. "Here," she said. "Your ice cream spilled, so you can have some of mine." She handed Serena and ice cream cone of bubblegum ice cream.

"Thank you Reenie," Serena said softly.

Meanwhile...

"Come on, Crystal, I'll walk you home," Travis said gently. He was aware of the others leaving, and Uncle Jake still watching him carefully. For a moment, Travis wanted to follow the others, and see them take back the transformation pens, but Crystal still looked weak.

The walk to Crystal's apartment was mostly silent. Several times she tried to start a conversation, only to find neither Travis nor Jake seemed to be listening to anything besides the voices in their own heads. Both seemed deep in their thoughts, and almost walked right by her apartment.

"We're here," she said. "Thanks for walking me back, Travis, I really appreciate it."

"Huh? Oh, you're welcome, Crystal, I hope you feel better tomorrow," Travis said absently, before turning and walking away.

Crystal sighed. *_Maybe if his uncle hadn't been here, he would have said something. He will eventually, I hope._* She turned to go inside.

Travis turned around and started walking away. As soon as he was sure they were alone, he turned to his uncle. "Do you want to know my secret? It's simple, I'm..."

"No!" Jake interrupted him sharply. "I don't want to know."

"I thought you didn't like secrets?" Travis said in confusion.

"I don't," Jake said. "But I also don't want you telling me like this."

"What do you mean?" Travis asked.

"You don't really want to tell me, do you? You just think I want to know. I don't want you to tell me something that's obviously very important, not only to you but to Serena as well, just because you're mad at me. And that `is' the main reason you were going to tell me whatever it is, isn't it?"

"No, of course not," Travis said immediately. As Jake continued to stare at him, he changed it. "Well, not really. Not totally."

"Travis, if you want to tell me something, go right ahead. I would love to hear whatever you have to say, whether it's talking about girlfriends, driving, your sister, your parents, or something even more important. But I want it to be because you want to tell me, not because you think I want to know, or because you're testing me."

"Testing you?" Travis looked up in shock. "I wasn't testing you!"

"Yes, you were," Jake spoke steadily. "You would have been very disappointed in me if I hadn't stopped you, wouldn't you have? You would have told me whatever secret you had, but you would probably not have trusted me with any others." He suddenly smiled. "Don't look so stricken, Travis. You didn't do it on purpose, but you can't help but do it every once in a while."

Jake was silent for a moment, as Travis tried to gather his thoughts. *_Could it be true? Was I really testing him?*_

"I've seen you, Travis," Jake spoke up, looking away. "When I've made a promise to you, you watch, almost expecting me to break it. When I do something you like, buy you something, take you somewhere, sometimes I see you, trying to figure out why, looking for there to be a reason, something I want in exchange. There are times I would really like to see your parents again, one more time." Jake's voice was low and threatening before he shook himself out of it. "You trust me a lot more now then you did when you came, I've seen that. And I've rejoiced in it, believe me. But I don't expect you to tell me everything you do and everything you think, I don't expect you to tell me all your secrets. Even if I was your real father, I wouldn't expect that." Jake flashed a smile at Travis. "Aren't you supposed to be with your friends now? I'll see you at home tomorrow."

Travis watched as his guardian turned and walked away. He opened his mouth to call out something and then stopped. He watched until his Uncle Jake turned the corner out of sight. *_Is he right? Have I been doing that?_* His thoughts went back to his adoptive parents. The only time they were ever really nice, or got him anything was when they wanted something. And even then, if they made a promise, after they got what they wanted the promise was forgotten.

*_I've trusted Serena from the very beginning, but that's not surprising. The others... yes, I've trusted them too, but they're kids. Adults, adults, I have trouble trusting, especially family._* Travis' expression was dejected as he tried to come to terms with his own feelings. *_My parents, the teachers at school, the servants, they all wanted something from me. I can't help thinking that he does too, though I don't know what. It's certainly not my money._* Travis reached the park and saw Serena sitting in the middle of a group of very concerned looking girls, and immediately pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind.

"What's the matter? What happened?" he asked, pushing his way forward.

Serena looked up. "The pens don't work," she said with a quiver in her voice. "They were fakes!"

"Fakes?" Travis asked in disbelief, sitting down with a thump next to his sister.

Serena took a lick of the ice cream cone in her hand before continuing. "And we lost the Sun Stone and the Earth Gem for nothing!"

"One of the fighters too," Travis said almost to himself.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, not wanting more bad news.

"Duoing only works between two people. That means you can Duo with me, or with Reenie, but not with both."

"I didn't need to hear that right now," Serena said softly.

Reenie was ready to staunchly defend her right to fight, even over her uncle's, but a look from Darien, and another look at an almost in tears Serena convinced her to leave it until a better time.

"Did you tell?" Serena suddenly asked.

"No," Travis said, hearing the sighs of relief from the others. "He gave me a lot to think about though."

"Why don't we take the ice cream and go to Lita's to sleep?" Serena suggested around a yawn. "And then tomorrow morning you can all yell at me for being stupid again."

"And we can figure out a way to get the pens and the stones back," Lita said, confidently. Serena seemed about to ask a question. "We will get them back," Lita told her.

"Right," Mina replied. "And I, the great and wonderful Sailor V will lead us into battle again if a youma shows up," she said cheerily, posing dramatically with a V for victory sign.

"`You' lead us into battle?" Raye asked. "Maybe I should lead next time."

"Hey! I'm still leader of this group!" Serena spoke up. "Aren't I?" she added in a whisper.

"Of course you are!" Amy said immediately. "They were just teasing."

"Yeah, don't worry," Lita said with a grin. "We could never replace you. After all, where would we find someone else with your appetite?"

Serena glared as everyone else laughed. The laughter was real. The second loss of the power sticks was a blow, but they had just proved that if they worked together, they could defeat foes even in their normal form. They'd just have to work a little harder.

"Let's go to bed and get a good night's sleep," Darien suggested as Reenie suddenly started yawning. "I know we've all got to be tired. I am anyway."

Everyone agreed and started to stand up. Serena walked over to the ice cream containers. "Reenie? Where's the rest of the bubblegum ice cream?" she asked.

"There isn't anymore. There was only enough for one cone," Reenie told her.

"And you gave it to me? That's so sweet," Serena smiled. "But you really wanted this kind."

"That's alright," Reenie responded. "Yours got all messed up."

"It's nice to see that she has better manners than Serena," Raye whispered to Mina. "Serena wouldn't give up her favorite ice cream to anyone."

"Come share it with me then," Serena said gently, holding out the half eaten cone.

"Thanks!" Reenie chirped. The two walked off, sharing the ice cream cone.

"Now there's a sign of real love," Lita said laughingly. "If Serena will share her food with her, you know she loves her."

Luna suddenly cleared her throat.

"What's the matter, Luna?" Travis asked.

"Nothing to do with you, Travis," Luna said. "Serena!"

"What?" Serena asked in exasperation. "Can't I just go get some sleep?"

"No, Serena, you can't," Luna said severely. "You're mother must be worrying even more than we were!"

"Oh, yeah," Serena remembered. "I had forgotten you told her."

"So let's go home and tell her you're all right, and then go to Lita's," Reenie suggested.

"No, Reenie, you go on with Lita, I think this is one chewing out that I'd prefer not to have witnessed." Serena handed Reenie the ice cream cone and started walking the opposite direction. Her shoulders were slumped slightly, and she almost looked as though she was walking to her execution.

Reenie looked after her. "Come on, Reenie," Lita said kindly. "You can tell us everything that happened."

"Yeah, Rabbit, we'll walk you over there," Travis grinned as Reenie glared at him. "Just for curiosity, how did Crystal get behind those garbage cans? I would have thought if she was there, she wouldn't have gotten drained." Travis' mind replayed that last run through the Negaverse. Although he had never seen more than a glimpse, he still had the impression that it had been Crystal ahead of him.

"We put her there," Amy told him. "She was waking up early, and we wanted to make sure that she didn't stand up in the middle of the fight and get put in danger."

Travis smiled in relief, the thought that it had been Crystal had been weighing on him, but it obviously couldn't be. He set the thought aside.

Serena and Luna walked slowly towards Serena's house as she told Luna of the Negaverse and what it had been like. "I was scared," she admitted. "I don't know what I would have done if Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Sol, and Crescent Moon hadn't shown up when they did."

"You would have figured something out," Luna said softly. "The same as you did for that first group of youmas."

"Why Luna, a compliment? I thought you were mad at me," Serena said, but her head came up a little higher.

"I am mad at you," Luna said, turning her head away. "But I'm also very proud. You did a good job, Serena."

"You mean it?" Serena asked. At Luna's affirmative, she picked her up and whirled her around.

"Put, me down!" Luna almost shouted.

Serena did, and then stood looking at her. "I usually don't get compliments from you," she said. "Will you make a recording of it so I can listen to it again?"

"Let's just get home, Serena," Luna said with a sigh.

"Oh, yeah," Serena sighed as well. "Home, and yet another lecture on how stupid, reckless, and irresponsible I was."

"Don't you think you deserve it?" Luna asked.

"Well, yeah," Serena replied. "But that doesn't mean I have to look forward to it, does it?"

Serena and Luna stood outside the darkened house. "Well, looks like they're all asleep, I don't want to wake them, let's come back in the morning."

"Serena," Luna practically growled. "Get to your room, and I'll go wake up your mother."

Serena sighed and used her key to open the door. Trying not to make any noise, she quietly tiptoed up to her room. She opened the door, to find her mother sitting on the desk chair, staring at the bed. A position she had been in several times when she would wake up to find Serena out.

"Mother?" Serena said quietly.

Ellen Tsukino jerked around to find her daughter at the door. With a low cry, she ran to her and hugged her furiously for a long moment. "How could you do something like that?" she asked when she finally pulled back.

"I didn't think. I just didn't want anyone else to be hurt the way Mina was," Serena said softly. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Worrying me," Ellen repeated quietly. "I thought I couldn't be anymore worried than I was when I would come in here at night to find you gone. I was wrong. I've never been more scared in my life than when I had heard you'd gone into the Negaverse by yourself. The fact that the others followed after you didn't help much."

"I wish there was a way I could make you not worry," Serena told her. "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't mean to scare anyone! But the thought that Darien, Travis, and especially Reenie would get hurt... that scared `me'! I reacted because of that."

"And if they had gotten hurt because of what you did?" Ellen Tsukino asked.

"I don't even want to think about it," Serena shuddered. Her eyes were haunted as she looked at her mother. "I want the people I love to be safe," she said quietly. "You understand that, don't you?"

"Oh, yes," her mother answered. "I understand that all too well." She got up and started to pace. "The thing I want most in life is for my family to be safe. Whether it's my husband, my children, or even my grandchildren. I can't bear the thought of losing one of you. I also want all of you to be happy."

"I know exactly what you mean," Serena agreed. "I'd do almost anything to keep my friends and family safe and happy."

"Will you stop being Sailor Moon?" Ellen asked in an almost non-existent voice.

"WHAT?" Serena and Luna yelled in unison.

"I'm scared for you, Serena!" Ellen said, keeping her voice down to avoid waking the rest of the household. "What you do is dangerous! I thought I could handle it, but I can't! The thought of you being in danger like that, when there is nothing, nothing that I can do! I want you safe! I want Reenie safe! I want you to give it up."

"Mother," Serena said in an agonized whisper. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. But I can't. I can't give it up; there's no one left."

"Why?" Ellen Tsukino looked at her daughter. "Why you?"

"Because I can," Serena said steadily. "I have the ability to do something about the evil and danger that surrounds this world, this city, this family! As long as I have the ability, I also have the responsibility to do what I can to make the world a better place. To make it safe for kids like Sammy to play in the park without worrying about getting their energy drained."

"And I can't give it up, because there's no one left," Serena continued. "There are three of us left after tonight, Tuxedo Mask, me, and whomever I duo with. That's it, that's all there is. We're all that stand between this universe, and the Negaverse. We can't give up. I can't give up. Would you honestly ever forgive me if I did?"

"What do you mean?" her mother asked in confusion.

"Think of it this way," Serena said, still speaking in a steady and solemn voice. "If I gave up, stopped being Sailor Moon, and let Tuxedo Mask take care of everything, and then a youma comes and starts causing destruction at one of the schools, and several children, including Sammy, get hurt, or even killed, would you ever forgive me for not being there?"

"I..."

"I never would," Serena turned away. "If I just gave up, I would never be able to live with myself, especially if something happened like that."

"I... I guess you're right," Ellen Tsukino said. She tried to add some lightness to the conversation. "And after that, I can't even ground you, can I?"

"That's a benefit I hadn't thought of," Serena said with a trembling grin. Serena suddenly threw herself into her mother's arms. "I wish it could be different, I truly do. I wish I could be nothing more than your little girl."

"You'll always be my little girl," Ellen whispered in her ear as she enveloped her in a hug. "You're just getting to be a grown up little girl." She buried her head in between her daughter's familiar meatballs, and hid the tears standing in her eyes. She wiped them off quickly. "Just, promise to be careful and think things through a little more, please?"

"I promise," Serena assured her. "Trust me, I won't be doing that again."

"I'll let you get some sleep then," she dropped a kiss on Serena's forehead and left the room.

"It seems I have another reason to be proud of you," Luna said quietly.

"Don't be," Serena said almost savagely. "I wanted nothing more than to say yes."

"Serena?" Luna asked.

"I'm so tired of being the one that has to do it all! I wish the Negaverse would take my Crystal too, and then I would have a reason for not having to fight! I've never wanted to fight! But I don't have much choice, do I? As long as I have this dumb brooch, I'll be Sailor Moon, and as long as I'm Sailor Moon, I have to fight. I want to be a normal girl!"

Luna stared at her. "Do you mean that?" she asked in a small voice.

Serena plopped down on the bed. "No, not really. Well, sometimes. I get so tired of it sometimes, you know. It seems like we're not doing anything but fighting, and we're losing. And that scares me almost as much as going into the Negaverse did. The Silver Imperium Crystal is the only thing standing between us and them, and I'm starting to think it's not going to be enough."

She stretched out. "I'm only fifteen, Luna. Sometimes, even I forget that I'm only fifteen. No matter how hard I try to still act my age, to be normal, I'm not. I love the Scouts, and Tuxedo Mask... but... do you know how long it's been since I went out on the town with Molly? Or any of my other friends from school? I don't even really have friends at school anymore, I never have the time for them, with the Scouts and everything. And when I get to thinking about it, it hurts. That's when I really wish to be normal. I even missed Molly's birthday party, the first time in the twelve years we've been friends. I forgot it. She's been my best friend almost all my life, and I forgot her birthday. I know that hurt her, but what can I do?" She drifted off to sleep, but Luna sat awake long into the night, her eyes shining.

Meanwhile, in the Negaverse...

Quartz had left the teleportation room and headed for the high security rooms in the medical wing. It was a guess only, but Garnite had said her father was being brainwashed, and no one short of Queen Beryl with the backing of the Negaforce had the power to do it with mind power alone. However, add drugs and other treatments to it, and it became a frightening possibility.

Reaching the wing, she saw a larger number of guards than had ever been stationed there before. She wanted desperately to just head in their with her crystal powers and her knives, and get her father out by sheer force, but knew better than to even try. *_I've got to get the guards away,_* she thought. *_Or, do I?_* There had been a thought niggling at the back of her mind, and she finally was able to realize what it was. *_The high security rooms always had an extra entrance, so that if necessary, Queen Beryl, or whoever could be brought in secretly, without anyone knowing they were sick or hurt. Might have hurt morale to know they're leaders could be hurt,_* she finished sarcastically.

Without hesitation, she moved away from her hiding spot. It took almost an hour of skulking through tunnels, finding secret doors and pathways and hiding from patrols, before she was sure she had found the tunnel she was looking for. She ran along it until it ended in a small hole. Looking through, she saw it was the right room. Sitting there, chained to the bed, was her father!

Quartz quickly opened the door and ran through. "Father!" she called, running to him. She threw her arms around him, and felt his go around her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," he answered. "You, however, are not." With that his arms tightened around her until she couldn't move.

"Father?" she asked, afraid to look in his eyes. When she did, she saw what she half expected, yet greatly feared to see. His eyes held no recognition, almost blank.

"Spessarite!" he called.

Spessarite walked into the room, chuckling. "A little too late, weren't you?" he asked conversationally.

Rhyolite's arms were still around Quartz, and she didn't dare do anything serious to make him let her go, for fear of hurting him, so her struggles were ineffective.

"You won't get away with this, Spessarite," Quartz glared at him.

"Now there is an overused line," Spessarite grinned. "Don't worry, I will get away with it. The changes will be small at first, practically no difference from before, except a little more power to me. And then a little more, and a little more, and before people know it, I will rule."

"But, you know, it doesn't really matter to you, does it? After all, you'll be dead by then. Kill her," he ordered Rhyolite.

At that, a sliver of intelligence struggled through Rhyolite's drugged brain. His arms slowly started to release. Quartz closed her eyes in thankfulness, then opened them again in terror as his hands moved to her throat, and he started to strangle her.

Spessarite gloated as Quartz continued to glare at him with hate filled eyes. Her eyes slowly closed as she began to lose consciousness.

::QUARTZ!:: screamed through her brain. ::Wake up! Don't let this happen! Please!::

The sudden mental shout snapped Quartz back into wakefulness, and she started struggling desperately. Encouraged by the voice that wouldn't leave her mind, she brought up one of her knives, and sliced across the back of the Emperor's hand.

It wasn't a bad cut, but it startled him into letting go and Quartz quickly rolled away from him.

"So you live for another minute or two," Spessarite shrugged. "It would have been fun to see him kill you though. You know, I've been thinking about it, and you're right."

Quartz looked at him in shock.

"It wouldn't work, people would start to wonder about the differences in the Emperor." He turned to Emperor Rhyolite and held out a knife. "Take this and slit your throat," he ordered calmly.

"NO!" ::NO!:: Only Quartz's voice echoed through the room as her father took the knife, the other voice echoing through her head.

::I'm sorry,:: she thought quietly to the other.

"Wait!" she called out. "If you don't kill him, I'll... I'll tell you who the Sailor of the Sun really is, and how to get him here, into the Negaverse. That way you can brainwash him! Wouldn't you rather have a live Sailor Scout helping you than a dead Emperor?"

"You know who the yellow and gold Scout is? Why should I believe you?" Spessarite asked. However, he waved the Emperor's hand back down.

::?:: came the thought from the Head of Intelligence on Earth.

"I saw him detransform when your slitherer stole the Sun Stone. His name is Travis William Watson, and I know how you can bring him here without any trouble at all. It won't cost you one single youma." Quartz looked steadily at Spessarite, ignoring the commotion in her own mind.

::You can't, Quartz! You're wrong, you have to be!:: the voice said frantically. ::And even if you're right, you can't do that!::

::I'm sorry, Crystal, I really am, but our father's life is more important than that of a boy you like. I'm sorry, my twin.::

I wonder how many people had figured that out yet? grin I know some people who had and some who hadn't. Actually, I hope you hadn't.

Chapter 12 is going to be good! If it gets as far as I hope anyway. Well, even if it doesn't, it's going to be good ^_^ But if it gets to where I want it to get...


	13. Chapter 12

Arg! My down arrow isn't working! Since to reformat these chapters, I have to go through and take out the enter at the end of every line, I need that down arrow key! pout

Hello everyone! Know what? I'm going to skip the disclaimers and everything this time, I just don't feel like dealing with them.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 12: Trust

"What's on your mind?" Darien asked Travis.

Travis looked up in surprise. He had been lost in his own thoughts since leaving the girls at Lita's apartment. He started to reply that it was nothing but found himself repeating the conversation with his uncle.

"Was he right? Was I just testing him?" he asked rhetorically.

"I don't think you were, not totally," was Darien's surprising reply.

"What do you mean? I would have been disappointed if he had let me tell him," Travis admitted. He continued before Darien could respond, "I trust Serena, but could you imagine not trusting Serena? I trust `you' but that's because we're blood brothers."

Darien frowned. "That makes no sense you know," he said. "Number one, yes I can imagine not trusting Serena, especially as she was before you came along. I sometimes had to wonder how she ever kept her being Sailor Moon a secret. She can be a blabbermouth, especially if you fed her. She was always late, got bad grades, and forgot things two minutes after you told her. Does that really sound like a person you can trust?"

"But..." Travis started.

"But you do trust her..." Darien continued, "so do I. I trust her to always be there if she's needed, and to do what's necessary. I trust her to keep a secret if it's really important. I trust her to always be

there for her friends. But still, I can easily imagine `not' trusting her. If I didn't know her so well, I could imagine it. Now, as to your second statement. The fact that we were blood brothers, a thousand

years ago, shouldn't really be a reason for you to trust me now. I'm not the same person I was then, anymore than you are. I am not Endymion, I'm Darien with a whole group of memories and experiences that Endymion never had. Trusting me just because you trusted Endymion..." Darien shook his head.

"But isn't that why you trust me?" Travis asked in confusion.

"Why? Because Tranquility and Endymion were blood brothers?" Darien asked. "No, I can't say that had much to do with it after the first couple of days."

"Then... why?" Travis asked slowly.

"Because you, Travis, are worthy of my trust," Darien answered soberly. "Those first few days, I didn't have a choice. I had to trust you, and the memories of the man you had been was very strong. After that, I trusted you because you had proved you could be trusted."

"So you were testing me?" Travis asked quietly.

"Of course I was," Darien answered calmly. "Nobody trusts at first sight, not even Serena. And for people like us who grew up believing there is no one that can be trusted, it's even harder."

Travis sat and thought for a long moment, then shook his head sharply. "I think I'm trying to overanalyze this. I probably just wanted to tell him because I was mad."

"Doesn't hold up," Darien said. "If so, why didn't you tell him?"

"Because Crystal was there," Travis reminded him.

"So? If you were really mad enough at him to blurt it out, you should have done it whether she was there or not. So why didn't you?"

"Because..." Travis stopped in confusion.

"Because you didn't trust her that much? But that must mean that you do trust him," Darien said. "Ask yourself this, would you trust him or Crystal with your deepest secret? With your life? With the deepest secret of the person most important to you? With his or her life?"

Travis sat and thought, his eyes blank as he struggled with the questions Darien had given him. Meanwhile, Darien left to make up the spare bedroom for his guest. When he came back, Travis was still sitting there. He suddenly stirred and looked up at Darien. "Yes, I would trust him with my deepest secret, Crystal too, I think. My life as well... probably. But I wouldn't trust Crystal with Serena's life."

"And Jake?" Darien asked, not remarking on who was most important to Travis.

"Yes, I would," Travis said slowly. "I guess that means I really trust him, huh? I still can't help thinking he wants something, though."

"Of course he does," Darien said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He wants a son who loves him."

"I think I'd like a father that loves me as well," Travis said in a small voice. He looked up with a crooked smile, "It would be a nice change."

Darien chuckled. "Yes, I imagine it would be," he agreed. "Good night, Travis, I don't think I could handle any more soul searching tonight."

"You can't? Hey, I've been the one doing the soul searching, you've just been sitting there and making smart remarks!" Travis said. He sobered, "I'm going to tell him tomorrow after school," he said quietly. "Would you come with me?"

"I'd be happy to," Darien said, touched that Travis would ask. He turned to go into his room.

"Darien!" Travis called.

Darien turned back.

"I want more than a father," Travis said seriously. "I'd like a brother as well. Do you think, maybe, we could redo the blood bonding?" his voice was almost timid as he looked at the older boy.

"I'd like that," Darien said, turning abruptly and walking into his room. "A brother!" he said in a hushed voice as he closed the door. His eyes were shining.

Reenie had fallen asleep as soon as she climbed into bed. An hour later she woke up and went to get a glass of water. A hushed conversation drew her attention.

"What is Serena going to do about Reenie and Travis?" Lita's voice came easily through the half opened door.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked.

"Serena can only duo with one of them, remember?" Raye said.

"If she duos with Travis, Reenie's going to be so disappointed," Lita continued.

"She can't make a decision based on their feelings, but on who will be the greatest asset in a fight," Amy said quietly.

"Reenie's got both her tiara attack and her moonbeam. I think Serena should pick her," Lita announced.

In the hallway, Reenie silently cheered.

"I disagree," Amy said quietly. "Reenie's attacks are strong and she could be a big help in a fight, but from what Travis has told us, he not only has a strong attack, but a really good defense as well. With only three fighters, he will be more of an asset."

"Amy's right," Raye agreed. "There is also the fact that Travis is older and tends on have a calming effect on Serena. He's not about to go off half cocked like Serena and Reenie will."

"I have to agree, too," Mina said slowly. "Travis would be the better choice."

Reenie stood with her head pressed against the doorjamb next to the half open door. *_Are they right? Would Travis be the better one to fight? But... but I'm the one who has to change back the future! I have to help fight!_*

Mina was still speaking, "But I don't think she will choose him."

Reenie looked up in hope.

"Travis might be the logical choice, the best choice, and even the choice Serena would like to make, but I don't think she will. It would hurt Reenie too much."

"That's not a good reason to pick someone," Amy remarked.

"No, but it is a Serena reason," Raye said.

Reenie walked slowly away. *_I should be happy_,* she thought to herself. *_She's going to pick me so I can keep fighting and that's great. So why do I feel so bad?_* Reenie sat in the windowsill and looked out at the night sky.

"Reenie?" Diana asked softly.

Reenie automatically picked up and started petting the kitten. "I don't know what to do, Diana," Reenie said. "I want to fight! I have the right to! But if Travis is really the better choice, if he can keep her

safe better than I could... maybe she should choose him." She looked at Diana, "But I don't want her to!"

Diana just looked at her for a long moment, before she started to purr quietly. She wanted to help her young mistress, but didn't know what to say. She had never run across this kind of problem before.

Reenie hugged Diana closer. "But... why would she choose me because she's afraid of hurting my feelings? It would, but I'd understand. I'm a big girl."

Diana suddenly felt a flash of insight, her mother would say later that it came from spending so much time around her lately. "Would you still love her if she chose him?"

"What kind of silly question is that?" Reenie laughed. Diana hid her head in embarrassment. "I'd love her no matter what, she knows that." She stood up suddenly. "Doesn't she? Is that it? Does she think I

wouldn't love her as much if she doesn't duo with me?" she started towards her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Diana asked in confusion.

"I've got to tell her that I'll love her no matter what," Reenie said, starting to get changed.

"You can't go out there alone!" Diana said vehemently. "Besides, she's going to be asleep by now, you know that. Tell her in the morning."

"But..."

"In the morning, Reenie. You know she would be mad at you if you woke her up," Diana reminded her.

"I suppose," Reenie conceded, putting the clothes down. She went to look out the window again. "First thing in the morning, I'll tell her I love her no matter what!" she got into bed. "But I sure hope she picks me anyway."

The next morning, the six girls and the boy met up again in front of Lita's apartment. The girls wanted to ask how Serena had gotten along with her mother the night before, but she didn't seem to be in the mood to talk. Travis, Darien, and Reenie were also silent thinking about their conversations from the night before.

"Mommy?" Reenie said quietly about halfway there.

"Yes, Small Lady?" Serena said, shaken out of her thoughts.

"Can I talk to you and Uncle Tranq please?" Reenie asked. She looked around. "Alone?"

"Go on," Serena told the others, "We'll meet you at school."

"Don't be late!" Amy called back.

"Don't worry, Amy, they still have plenty of time," Lita told her. "We left pretty early."

"It's good to get to school early. It helps your brain get ready for the day," Amy said seriously.

"More sleep would work better," Mina groused.

"What did you want to talk about Reenie?" Serena asked as the other girls left.

Reenie pulled the two older kids into a nearby alley. She took a deep breath. "I just wanted you to know..." she started, and then fell silent.

"Know what, Small Lady?" Serena asked quietly.

"That... that..." she drew another deep breath and rushed. "That I love you and will always love you even if you decide to duo with Travis instead of me, because I know he's got that defensive power and I don't, though I think my attacks work good and I should be the one you choose and I really wish you'd think about choosing me but I'll understand if you don't because I'm a big girl and I know people sometimes have to make decisions that would hurt other people and I wouldn't be too hurt because I know you have to do what you think is best and I would do the best I could if you would let me fight!"

Serena and Travis sat and blinked for a long moment trying to make sense of what Reenie had just said.

"Let me get this straight," Travis finally said. "You'd like to duo with Serena in the next fight, but if she thinks I'm the best choice, you'll love her anyway, right?"

"That's what I said," Reenie said, still trying to get her breath back from the sentence.

"Just checking," Travis grinned. He turned to his sister, "And if you choose Reenie, I'll still love you too."

"Gee, thanks," Serena said sarcastically, but she smiled softly at her brother before going down on her knees before Reenie. "Small Lady," she said quietly. "Thank you for telling me how you feel. I know that you won't be very happy if I duo with Travis instead of you, but I know that you're mature enough to handle it if I find it necessary. And I'm very proud of you for that." She swept Reenie into a hug.

"Yeah, kiddo," Travis said, kneeling down as well. "You're growing up pretty well," he smiled gently and then turned it into a grin. "For a `rabbit' that is."

"Uncle Travis!" Reenie wailed, but she was grinning too. She reached up and took hold of the two older kids hands and the three walked down the street towards Reenie's elementary school. Thanks to Amy's insistence that they get to school early, they still had plenty of time. They turned a corner.

"Oh, come on!" Serena exclaimed in disgust.

"Why here?" Travis wondered. "They've never gone after the government before."

"Well, Dad always says the government wastes a lot of energy," Serena quipped.

The three looked at the youma rampaging in front of City Hall. It was dressed in a conservative business suit, but the still forms surrounding it showed that it was as much a youma as any other. They quickly backed away around the corner before the youma could see them.

"What are you going to do?" Reenie asked worriedly.

Serena looked from her daughter's hopeful face to her brother's carefully unemotional one. "I... I can't choose!" Serena said, almost frantically.

"Mother!" Reenie wailed.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't!" Serena answered. "I just wish I could duo with you both... Who says I can't? Let's try it!"

"Serena, duoing will only work with two, that's why it's called duoing, remember?" Travis said gently.

"Well, it won't hurt to try, will it?" Reenie asked hopefully.

"As long as you don't get your hopes up too far, and we do it quick," Travis said. He didn't believe it would work, but found himself unable to say that aloud while he looked into his niece's eyes.

Serena pulled out her Moon Crystal, and the three of them reached for it. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER DUO!" they yelled.

Nothing happened.

Serena dropped her head, "I'm sorry Reenie," she said softly.

"Me, too," Reenie sighed.

"Wait a minute," Travis said. "Didn't you feel it trying to work?"

"Yeah, but it didn't," Serena answered.

"It didn't when we first tried to use the Sun Stone together either, why not?" Travis was looking at her intently.

"Because the words weren't right!" Serena said impatiently. Then her eyes opened wide. "Because the words weren't right," she whispered to herself. "Is that all it is? The wrong activation words? We need something to tell it that there are three of us, right? Like last time we needed to add Duo."

"So it will work if we get the right words?" Reenie was practically bouncing up and down in eagerness. "What word? Something to do with three, right?"

"Like... triplet?" Serena asked, not being able to think of anything better.

"Maybe third?" Reenie didn't think much of her suggestion either.

"Trio?" Travis asked. He looked at the others. "It's to three what duo is to two."

A loud crash was heard from the direction of City Hall. "Let's try it," Serena said quickly.

Three hands reached once more for Serena's Crystal brooch. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER TRIO!" they called simultaneously.

A moment later, "Nothing happened," Serena said in disbelief. "And I was so sure."

"I thought it would work too," Travis sighed. "But I guess three of us is just too many. You're going to have to pick."

"But..." Serena started.

"Mommy, we don't have much time," Reenie said.

Serena looked back and forth desperately. *_Calm down, Serena, and think! Reenie wants to fight so badly._* Serena looked at her, her eyes were almost begging, but the young girl didn't say a word. *_And she's got two attacks, and she's usually good in a fight. But Travis has that shield that can absorb energy in a fight and he's got his sword._* Serena closed her eyes for a long moment, trying to decide. "I'm sorry, Reenie, I just think Travis' shield will be of more use."

Reenie nodded slowly, disappointment plain on her face. She tried to smile. "I understand, Mommy," she said quietly.

Serena bent down and hugged her. "I'm glad," she whispered.

Travis stood by watching quietly.

"Let's do it," Serena told him when she stood back up. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER DUO!" they cried.

As Sailor Moon and Sailor New Moon ran down to the fight, Reenie watched sadly. She turned and kicked at a nearby can. "I really wish she'd picked me," she muttered. "Oh well, at least I can watch the fight."

New Moon asked Sailor Moon as they ran, "Were those the only reasons you picked me?"

"No," she answered quietly. "But I wasn't going to tell her that one of the reasons was to keep her safe."

When they got around the corner, they found the other youma standing over a new batch of victims. "Hold it, Negacreep," she started. "For slowing down the process of government even more, I will not forgive you! I am Sailor Moon, Champ..."

The youma interrupted, "Do you have a permit?"

Sailor Moon's mouth was still wide open. She closed it with a snap and got ready to start again.

Before she could ask what he was talking about, the youma continued, "Do you have a speechmaking permit? You can't make a speech in a public place without a speechmaking permit."

"Um... well, you see..." Sailor Moon was confused. This was not normal behavior for a youma.

"I knew it!" the youma exclaimed. He handed her a large pile of paper, which she took automatically. "You need to fill out these forms in triplicate and submit them to the proper authorities. Failure to show the proper permit while making a speech will result in immediate suspension of all rights to make speeches, a two year prison sentence, and a five hundred thousand dollar fine."

"Five hundred thousand dollars?" Sailor Moon gulped. "I... I don't have that kind of money!"

"I told you your speeches were going to get you in trouble one of these days!" New Moon laughed.

"I don't feel so good," Sailor Moon said, swaying slightly. "I'm so tired," she murmured.

"Sailor Moon!" Reenie yelled, running towards her.

"Drop the paperwork," New Moon called. "It's draining your energy!"

Sailor Moon tried to throw down the pile of papers, but something exploded from it and started to wrap around her.

"Red tape!" the youma crowed. "No one can escape it!"

Sailor Moon tried desperately to escape the never-ending supply of red tape exploding out of the paperwork, but wasn't able to find her way through it.

"What do we do?" Reenie asked her uncle.

"There's only one way to get rid of red tape," New Moon responded. He pulled out his sword. "Cut right through it! And you need to get back out of the way."

The Moon Sword carefully cut through the mass of red tape. Sailor Moon was in the middle, almost suffocated.

"Are you alright?" the other two asked anxiously.

Sailor Moon coughed for a few moments, desperately trying to get her breath back before she nodded. "Reenie, get out of the fight!"

"All right," she said, running towards the building.

"Don't you know you can't fight City Hall?" the youma asked as Sailor Moon slowly got up.

"No, I don't," she said. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" She threw the discus toward the youma.

"Firing a weapon within city limits!" the youma called as he dodged, throwing up a blocking wall of paper and red tape. "That's a violation of Section 254, paragraph 4, subparagraph c of the Municipal Code. The fine is her energy!" Faster than anyone expected the red tape wall collapsed and moved towards the young girl on the sidelines.

"NEW MOON DARKNESS SHIELD!" A wall of darkness suddenly appeared between Reenie and the youma.

"Thanks!" she called to New Moon as she moved out of the way.

Sailor Moon had been happy to see the shield between her daughter and the youma but didn't let it distract her. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" she called, sending the attack straight at the youma. Immediately, she threw a second tiara to the side in a gliding path around the youma. She watched with bated breath as the youma took out the first tiara but didn't notice the second.

"Yeah!" she started to cheer as the tiara started towards the youma's back. Suddenly the youma turned and almost contemptuously sent her red tape to capture the disc.

"MOON SWORD SLICE!" was called from the side even as Sailor Moon started to wail her disappointment that her plan hadn't worked. The youma was distracted by Sailor Moon's attack and didn't notice the other until it was too late.

"Now!" New Moon and Reenie called.

"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" dusted the youma and left only a pile of dust and a business suit.

"Dusted!" Sailor Moon started to say, and then, "Oh no! We're going to be late!" Reenie and New Moon looked at the clock at the top of the City Hall building. Without a word they detransformed. Serena and Travis grabbed Reenie's hands and they took off running towards her elementary school.

"Next time you'll duo with me, right?" Reenie asked as they ran.

"We'll see," was all Serena said.

Meanwhile at her desk at Crossroads Junior High, Crystal was carrying on a conversation unheard by the other students.

::The problem is going to be Sailor Moon,:: Quartz was thinking to Crystal. Crystal was still sulking. The plan was based upon information Crystal had sent to Quartz, sister to sister, and she didn't think Quartz should be using it like this. Quartz continued, ::I wish there was some way we could leave her free or at least keep the Imperium Silver Crystal from falling into Spessarite's hands. Unfortunately that hairstyle will make it obvious who she is.::

::I think this is a really silly plan, Quartz. Why all the drama?:: Crystal thought to her sister.

::Because it gives them a better chance to get out of it, and it's exactly the kind of plan that old Spaghetti enjoys. He ate it up,:: Quartz answered. ::Now can we get back to the problem of Sailor Moon?::

::Look,:: Crystal thought back. ::Why don't I just talk to Travis? I'm sure he'll help us, especially if we explain about our father. He's a nice guy, even if he is a Scout. Serena is too, from what I've seen of her.::

Quartz threw back a picture of what their father had looked like after being brainwashed. ::Do you want him to stay like that? I'm sorry that you don't like the plan. I know that you like Travis, and if we explained things to him, maybe he would help. But we can't take that chance and it's too late now. The plan's already in motion, and there's no way I can stop it now.::

Crystal sighed almost audibly. ::I'll take care of Serena,:: she thought back sourly. ::Just do what you can to make sure Travis isn't hurt, okay?::

::I'll try,:: Quartz promised.

Crystal waited impatiently for Serena and Travis to get to school. Amy and Lita were already there and they started throwing worried glances at the clock and the window as the time for the first bell got closer and the twins didn't arrive.

Ten minutes after homeroom started, Serena and Travis rushed into class out of breath.

"I expected better from you, Travis," Miss Haruna said. "Did you have trouble getting your sister up this morning?"

"Hey!" Serena said, annoyed.

"No, Miss Haruna, we were up in plenty of time, it was just that there was this..." Travis began.

"I don't want to hear it. Detention, both of you," Miss Haruna said. "And maybe next time you'll be on time."

*_Her boyfriend must have broken a date again,_* Crystal thought. Even she knew that on those days Miss Haruna would use any slight problem as a reason for detention. *_This is going to make it more difficult, unless..._* she grinned slightly to herself, and bent down to her classwork.

During lunch she walked up to Serena. "Hello," she said softly.

Serena turned around quickly. "Crystal," she said in surprise. "Hi!"

"Look," Crystal said, "Can we talk?"

"Sure," Serena said, still surprised that Crystal was talking to her. It wasn't something that happened often, especially when Travis was around. "Excuse me," she said to the others. Grabbing her lunch she and Crystal walked off to one side. "What's up?" Serena asked as they found a place to sit down.

"I'm sorry," Crystal said quietly.

"For what?" Serena was honestly confused. As far as she knew, Crystal hadn't done anything to be sorry for, or at least not to her.

"I've been kind of jealous of you," Crystal confessed. "Of the amount of time you spend with Travis I mean."

"But you didn't know I was his sister," Serena told her.

"Even after that, I didn't like you very much. I couldn't get over being jealous. After all you don't see many brothers and sisters that spend as much time together as you do. And it seems like he'd rather hang around you than me," Crystal said.

"That's silly," Serena grinned. "You should see him when he knows he's going to be meeting with you. He gets really worried if he's going to be late or thinks he doesn't look his best."

"Really?" Crystal asked happily.

"Um hmm," Serena agreed. "And did you know that you're the first girlfriend he's had since he came here?"

"Really?" Crystal asked again. "But why? I mean he's very handsome, and he's extremely nice, and gallant, and..."

"Well, from what I hear, he did have a girlfriend before he moved here but she really hurt him and it's taken him awhile to get over it." Serena looked off into the distance. "He doesn't talk about that time much. Actually, he doesn't talk much about his life before coming here. It wasn't very happy."

"I know some of it," Crystal said. "But he seems very well adjusted."

"Oh, he is," Serena smiled, coming back to the present. "He just has some problems with trust occasionally, and he refuses to be a responsibility to anyone."

"Problems with trust?" Crystal's voice was very low.

"Um hmm," Serena said. "He's had too many people that lied to him, told him something that wasn't true. It's very hard for him to trust anyone. You'd never know it to look at him though, would you? He seems to make friends so easily, but I wouldn't ever want to be a friend of his that betrayed him. I don't think he could ever forgive that."

Crystal was lost in thought. *_He'll never forgive me for this, will he?*_ she sighed silently, *_I wish __there was another way, but it's my father's and sister's life on the line, I can't waver now._*

"Why do you wear your hair that way?" Crystal asked.

Serena stared at the abrupt change in subject. *_Maybe she doesn't want to talk about Travis' other girlfriends,_* she thought. *_I know how I feel when someone talks about Darien's previous ones.*_ "I've always worn my hair like this," she replied. "It's the way I like it."

"I'm surprised you don't get teased about it," Crystal told her.

"Oh, I do," Serena replied, unconsciously reaching up to one of her hair buns. "But most people are used to it by now. I've worn it this way since I was a baby."

"Don't you ever want to change it?" Crystal asked.

"Occasionally," Serena said, "But not for very long, this is the way it should be. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just like playing around with different hairstyles, as my friends have learned to their regret, and I got to thinking I'd like to see what your hair would look like in a different style." Crystal smiled. "Would you let me style your hair? Please? It would be fun."

"Well, I suppose," Serena said. _*We can't do anything until Amy figures out how we can get back to the Negaverse and try again. As long as there isn't another youma attack, and I would like to get to know Crystal a little better.*_ "Sure," Serena decided. "It sounds like fun."

"Great!" Crystal grinned. "After you get out of detention?" her face suddenly looked surprised. "Is that the time? I haven't even started my lunch!"

Serena looked up to see that the next bell would ring in two minutes and hurried to finish her lunch. She managed to finish it and get back into the classroom in time. Crystal, however, couldn't eat as fast and wound up late back to class. She was given detention.

That afternoon, in detention, Miss Haruna left the three of them alone when she got a phone call. Crystal grabbed a brush from her purse and moved over to Serena.

"What's up?" Travis asked, watching with interest.

"Girl stuff," Crystal grinned. "You probably wouldn't be interested."

"Actually, Travis is pretty good at hairstyling," Serena said, also grinning. "He does a mean braid."

"Really?" Crystal asked, surprised.

Travis shrugged, embarrassed. "She didn't want Darien to recognize her when she went out, so I changed her hairstyle."

"Oh, good, then you can help me with this," Crystal pulled him over and started talking about hairstyles as she undid the buns on top of Serena's head. "So that's how you do it," she said, impressed, as she

finally figured out how to undo them. Crystal started drawing Travis and Serena into a conversation about hairstyles. Serena gradually dropped out and just listened, grinning when she was sure they couldn't see. It wasn't exactly flattering to be treated like a mannequin, but it was fun listening to the two of them argue about how her hair would look best. Crystal braided, draped, and piled her hair into different styles, finally settling on almost an exact copy of her Sailor Sun hairstyle, except all of it was braided though only the first half formed into a flat bun.

"I've never dealt with hair so long and fine before," Crystal finally said, drawing back, "But that looks pretty good, don't you think?"

"Indeed I do," Travis remarked, smiling at Crystal. "Is this what you want to be when you grow up?"

"Hmm?" Crystal asked, seemingly distracted. "Oh, no, it's just something I like to do for fun. I wonder whatever happened to Miss Haruna? Detention ended a half hour ago, and she still hasn't returned."

The twins looked up at the clock in surprise. It did say what Crystal had said. "I had no idea we'd been here so long," Serena gasped. "We've got to get home," she told Crystal.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Crystal smiled. "Don't take out that hairstyle tonight, okay? I want to see what response you get in the morning. Please? Promise me you won't go back to your normal hairstyle tonight."

"All right, I promise," Serena smiled back. "See you tomorrow!"

Crystal stood at the window, watching as they ran out of the school towards Serena's house. She held her hands clenched in front of her as she watched until she couldn't see them anymore, then she slowly opened her hand to reveal the Moon Crystal Brooch. While she had been messing with Serena's hair, she had managed to take it without anyone noticing. "I'm sorry, Serena," she whispered achingly, "I wish we could have been friends. And Travis..." two tears ran down her face and her hands tightened compulsively around the brooch. ::It's done,:: she telepathed to her sister.

Serena and Travis raced towards Travis' house. "Hi Apollo!" Travis said as they got there.

"Hello Travis, I notice you're home late," Apollo said, backwinging to land on Travis' upraised fist.

"Yeah, we got detention because we had to stop and fight a youma," Travis shrugged. It had happened a couple of times before, and as long as it was in a good cause, he didn't really mind the detention. Especially when it was enjoyable as it had been that day. "Uncle Jake home?" he asked, hoping he was so he could talk to him.

"He had been, but then a man came and gave him a letter and he left. I wasn't able to get close enough to see what it was all about, but your uncle did not seem happy," Apollo told him. "I believe he left you a message on the door."

Travis went up to the front door, and then quickly back down again. "It says to go to your house as soon as possible," he said in confusion. "I wonder what's going on."

"Maybe he's figured out our identities and is going to tell my parents," Serena said worriedly.

"I don't think so," Travis shook his head. "If he knew, he wouldn't tell."

"You seem pretty sure of that," Serena said, puzzled.

Travis smiled. "Darien put my head straight," he said. "I do trust my uncle. Even with that secret. In fact, if that isn't the problem, I plan on telling him tonight. Will you be there?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Serena smiled. Then her smile died. "You don't think... maybe something happened to my family? Or to Reenie? We've got to get home!" She took off running before the last word was out of her mouth. Travis was right behind her.

They burst into the house to find Jake and Ken standing tensely in the living room. "What's the matter?" Serena gasped out, "Did something happen to Mom? Reenie? Sammy?" she asked quickly. The expressions on the two men's faces did nothing to reassure her.

"No, Serena, it's nothing like that," her father said soothingly. "Your mother had decided to take Reenie shopping this afternoon remember? And Sammy's at a friend's house."

"Thank goodness," Serena sighed, sinking into a nearby chair.

"So what's the matter?" Travis asked. "Uncle Jake, is something wrong."

Jake silently handed Travis a piece of paper and he read it quickly. "WHAT?" he shouted.

Serena surged to her feet, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"They can't do this! They can't!" Travis said desperately, ignoring his sister's questions. "It must be some kind of joke, or mistake, or something!"

"Our lawyer says it's real, and it's legal," Ken said in a defeated tone.

"Well, you can forget it!" Travis shouted at him. "We're fifteen years old, and we have the right to choose!"

"Will someone tell me what is going on?" Serena shouted deafeningly.

"I'm sorry, Serena," Travis said after taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm down. "According to this, one Roland Garner, Sarah Garner Aton's older brother, is suing for custody of us, and has been awarded temporary custody until the matter is settled."

"What? He can't do that! I already have a family! Daddy, they can't take us away, can they?" Serena ran up to her father and threw herself into his arms. "I don't want to leave you and Mom and Sammy and Reenie and everyone!"

"It'll only be for a little while, sweetheart, and then we'll get you back," Ken whispered in his daughter's ear, tears in his eyes.

"I can't believe you're taking this so calmly!" Travis yelled. "I thought the law said that if a child was more than thirteen he or she got to choose with which parent he would live."

"That's for cases of divorce, Travis, not in cases of adoption," Jake said in a tired tone. "And biological parents always have an edge over adopted ones."

"But he's not a parent! And if he's actually Sarah Aton's brother, where has he been for the past fifteen years? You can't just let him take us! Well, I'm not going to go with him!"

"Me neither!" Serena agreed vehemently.

"But the law says," Jake started.

"I don't care! There are more important things than laws, and I am not going to leave my family!" Serena's voice wasn't worried anymore, it was determined. Travis smiled slightly behind his own worry. `Nobody' threatened Serena's family and got away with it, and she was definitely thinking of this as a threat.

"Serena's right," Ken said. "She's been my daughter for fifteen years, that gives me more of a right than someone who shows up out of nowhere. If he wanted custody he should have come forward fifteen years ago. It's too late now. I am not giving up my daughter."

"I don't want you to give up your daughter," a voice said from behind them. They turned to find a man in his late forties, with gray temples blending into blood red hair and dressed in a conservative business suit. "I just want time to get to know my niece and nephew. I'm sorry for barging in," he continued, "but your front door was open, and no one answered when I knocked."

"You're Roland Garner?" Jake asked, stepping forward.

"Yes, I am. And you must be Darien Jacobson. Nice to meet you," Roland Garner held out a hand which Jake shook with evident distaste. "I know this is a shock," Garner continued. "Having me show up out of nowhere like this, and I can understand your feelings, but I don't mean any harm to your families. Oh, how rude of me," he continued without letting anyone get a word in edgewise. "This is my lawyer, Mr. Perry, and his associate, Mr. Mason." He pointed to two more average men who had stepped in behind him.

Out of politeness, Mr. Jacobson and Mr. Tsukino shook the lawyers' hands. "Look," Ken said, "I understand your wanting to get to know your niece and nephew, but I am not going to let you break up my family to do it, and neither is Mr. Jacobson. Lawyers or no lawyers, you're fifteen years too late."

Mr. Garner looked down. "I never knew," he said softly. "My parents were very rigid in their beliefs and feelings and when Sarah decided to marry Trevor Aton, a man of whom my parents did not approve; they disowned her. I never heard from her again, and as far as I knew, she was still alive and married. It wasn't until the death of my father last year that I really tried to find her, when I truly realized how important family is. Still, I could find no trace. When my mother died last month, I was looking through her papers and found... Sarah's death certificate, and the birth certificates of the twins. I immediately started to look for them. It took me this long to find them." The man's monologue was hypnotic, lulling. "I don't want to take your children from you, I just want a taste of what you've had for so long. I simply want a chance to get to know these new members of my family. And I think it would be easier for us to get to know each other if we were alone. That's why I've asked for temporary custody. I just want to give myself a chance to know them, and them a chance to know me."

"Besides," Roland Garner's voice was harder now. "I do have a legal right to be with my niece and nephew. That paper you both have proves that. If you don't hand over custody, I'll call the police and have you charged with kidnapping." *_This isn't working. How did Quartz ever convince Spessarite this was a good idea? We should have just come in here and grabbed them like I wanted._*

"What?" Serena gasped. "You can't do that!"

"Serena," Mr. Garner said, "I wouldn't want to of course, but I do have a right to get to know you, and I won't let anything interfere. It's been too long since I've had any real family. You understand don't you?" he smiled softly at her. *_I thought for a moment she might be Sailor Moon, but not with that hairstyle. Still, she'll help keep the other brat in line, after all, we've seen what family loyalty can do_.* He barely restrained a chuckle at that thought.

"No," she hissed, "I don't understand! You can't create a family with threats! All you'll create is hate."

"We won't go with you," Travis said steadily.

"It's not your choice, Travis," Roland Garner said silkily. "This document says that you are in my custody until this case is brought to trial. Legally, I'm your guardian, and you will stay with me until the courts say otherwise, if they ever do." *_And so it does, that youma this morning was a good distraction while I got the papers I needed and `convinced' people to sign them.*_

"This is about an inheritance, isn't it?" Travis asked. "I recognize the signs. You don't want us, but your sister was left something in your parents estate and you want it through us. Or something like that."

"Forget it," Jake said angrily. "I'm not letting Travis go back into a situation like that, even if I had been thinking of letting him go, which I wasn't! Travis will stay with me, where he belongs."

"Mr. Mason," Mr. Garner turned to one of the men behind him. "Please swear out the warrants on these two men with charges of kidnapping, and then call the police."

"No! You can't do that!" Serena cried. She turned to Travis with a hopeless look in her eyes, and for the first time really tried to talk to him without words. ::What do we do?::

::I don't think there's anything we can do,:: Travis' thought was bleak. ::If we don't go with him, Uncle Jake and Uncle Ken...::

She closed her eyes and nodded her head painfully.

"Alright," Travis said slowly. "We'll go with you."

"Travis!" Jake said in disbelief.

Travis ran and through his arms around him. "I have to, I can't let you go to jail over this. It'll be okay, you'll see," he whispered.

Serena was wrapped in her fathers arms telling him the same thing.

"Come on, let's go," Garner said impatiently.

Serena turned back towards her `uncle'. "At least let me say good-bye to my mother and brother and cousin," she said.

"There's no time, we have to catch the next train. Now come on, let's go."

The other four looked at each other for a long agonizing moment. Travis ran to Jake once more and hugged him again. "I love you, Dad," he whispered.

Jake's eyes opened wide and then closed as he wrapped his arms around the young boy. "I love you too," he whispered, "Son."

Mr. Mason cleared his throat and they separated. Serena also reluctantly separated from her father. "Tell Mom and Reenie and even Sammy, that I love them and will be back as soon as I can, alright?" she said in a wobbling voice.

"No!" Ken suddenly yelled. He ran forward. "Call the police, I don't care, I am not letting you take my daughter!"

"Dad!" Serena said. "But if you don't..."

"I don't care, Serena," Ken said. "Take your hands off of her," he said harshly to Mr. Perry who had taken her arm.

"Oh goody, we get to do this the hard way," Garner said, smiling. In a flash his clothes transformed into a gray Negaverse captain's uniform and the gray left his hair to become its normal blood red.

"Hi," Reenie caroled as she came into the room with Mrs. Tsukino behind her. On seeing the youma captain she screamed. "It's him! Let them go! Let go of Serena!" she yelled, running at the still normal seeming human holding her.

"Look at that hair!" Garnite gasped. "She must be that little one, grab her!"

"No!" this time it was Serena who shouted it as she jerked herself free of Mr. Perry and threw herself at Mr. Mason in a high kick. He suddenly grew to almost twice the size he was before, making it obvious that he was a youma as well. With one swipe he slammed Serena into the wall. She slid down it with a grunt.

"Serena!" all the others in the room called out.

Serena reached for her brooch. *_I don't want Dad and Uncle Jake to see, but it looks like we don't have a choice.*_ "My brooch!" she whispered, looking down. "Where is it?" She looked frantically for where it had fallen off.

Travis was attacking the youma who had been Mr. Perry, who was holding a struggling Reenie.

"Get the little one, and the boy!" Garnite shouted. "I'll get the girl!"

Mr. Perry knocked Reenie on the back of the head, knocking her unconscious and then threw her to the other youma.

"No you won't!" Jake charged at him, only to be thrown back by an energy blast.

"Uncle Jake!" Travis turned and threw himself at Garnite, but Mr. Perry managed to grab him, and started to wrap his arms around him as if they were made of rubber.

Serena was searching the floor furiously. "Travis, have you seen it?" she asked, before noticing the predicament he was in. "Oh, no," she gasped. Turning she saw her father down in one corner, Uncle Jake leaning against a wall, her mother hovering in the doorway, and Travis and Reenie in the hands of the youmas.

"You'll pay for this," she said, standing up defiantly.

"Oh, and who is going to make me, you?" Garnite said, grabbing her. "You see, we know who your brother and little cousin are, and you're the perfect person to `convince' them to work with us."

"Never," Serena said, twisting desperately. However, Garnite held her easily.

"Oh, I think so," Garnite grinned.

"Why did you go to all this trouble?" Travis remarked, trying to get free of the youma holding him.

"Why? I've wondered that myself a time or two, but Lord Spessarite thought it was a good plan, so I went along with it. You don't argue with Lord Spessarite. But since it didn't work, I get to do it my way, which is much simpler don't you think?"

He looked around at the others as a portal formed in front of him. "Maybe I should take some of these others, like that man over there."

Jake had managed to get up by that time, though he was holding his ribs carefully. He moved purposefully towards the youmas.

"Or maybe not," Garnite grinned, sending several pulses of energy towards the man.

Serena and Mrs. Tsukino screamed as he was sent backwards into the wall again. This time he didn't get up. Travis gave a hoarse shout and put all of his strength into getting free. His sudden thrashing caught the youma off-guard and he almost got free when Garnite raised his hand again and pointed it at Ellen Tsukino. He looked at Travis, "It's your choice."

Travis stopped struggling even as Ken threw himself in front of his wife and the youma captain sent another pulse of energy at him, slamming them both into the hall wall. Without another word, he turned and walked through the portal, the youmas with Travis and Reenie right behind him.

I haven't done one of these in a while. What is going to happen to Serena, Reenie and Travis? What happened to their parents? Will they find out what Crystal did? Find out next time in Chapter 13!

I want to thank Will and Doug for making this chapter much better than it was, and Cassandra for the idea of Travis calling Jake "Dad". ^_^


	14. Chapter 13

Hello everyone and welcome back! Don't you want to know what's going to happen to the three of them? Well then, read the chapter, not these standard disclaimers! grin

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 13:

Garnite gloated as he led his captives through the Negaverse Palace into the dungeons. He was taking his time, not only in order to enjoy his captives' struggles, but to allow time for a cell to be set up for his unexpected third guest.

::Why didn't you transform?:: Travis asked almost accusingly. ::I think it would have been a good idea whether people were watching or not!::

::I would have if I could have!:: Serena's thought was slightly hysterical. ::But my brooch is missing!::

"What?" Travis exclaimed out loud. A cuff from his captor reminded him to keep the conversation silent even as it set his head ringing. ::What do you mean? How could it be missing?::

::I don't know,:: Serena admitted. ::I thought it got knocked off when I got thrown into that wall, but I couldn't find it anywhere! And then I looked up and Daddy... and Uncle Jake... and... and Reenie...::

Travis threw a quick glance over at his sister as her thought started to break up. There were tears in her eyes, and she looked as if she were about to burst into a wail.

::Calm down, Serena, you're not going to do yourself or Reenie any good if you get knocked out...:: his thought trailed off.

::Like Reenie,:: Serena finished bleakly. Reenie still hadn't woken up and worry about her was on both of their minds. ::Why hasn't she woken up, Travis?::

::I don't know, Serena. I don't know.::

Both of them stopped their telepathic conversation as Garnite led them into what was obviously a prison. Dark stone walls and barred doors made it look as though it had come from some old horror movie, and the sounds coming through matched the picture perfectly. After one glance into a passing cell, both of the conscious humans kept their faces turned forward.

Serena shuddered and tried to move closer to her brother as they headed down a set of steps into an even danker, and filthier part of the prison. The doors here were made out of wood with only a small barred window at the top. She screamed as what looked like a large six legged rat scuttled over her feet.

"Shut up," Garnite told her, shaking her absently.

He opened a large steel door and led them into another series of cells. After the dark and dank dungeon they had just come from, the antiseptic whiteness was a shock.

"This is where we keep special prisoners," he smiled thinly. "In you go, Sailor of the Sun!" With that, he had the youma throw Travis roughly into one of the cells and closed the door. Then he flipped a switch. The bars started glowing faintly and then stronger until they were crackling with energy. "This jail cell was specially designed in case we ever caught one of you creeps. Any kind of energy you throw at the bars will be reflected back at you. I'll let you find out the other features for yourself."

He opened a cell on the other side and threw in Serena. "I don't want your famous brother worrying about you," he grinned. "Not until we're ready for him to."

"Wait a minute," Travis spoke up. "What are you talking about, Sailor of the Sun? I'm no Sailor Scout!"

"Are you sure?" Garnite asked silkily.

"Of course I'm sure," Travis responded.

"Well, if you're not a Sailor Scout, then there's no need to keep your sister and this little girl around to insure your good behavior, now is there?" Garnite asked.

With that he pulled out a knife and started walking towards the still unconscious Reenie.

"No! Wait!" Travis yelled. "I am, okay? I am Sailor Sol."

"I thought so," Garnite motioned for the youma holding Reenie to put her

in the cell next to Serena. "I'll leave you here for now. My master,

Lord Spessarite, will wish to see you soon. Why don't you get ready for

him?" With one last chill smile, he walked off.

Immediately Serena moved as far towards Reenie's cell as she could, and put her arms through the bars trying to reach her daughter. "Reenie," she said desperately. "Come on, Reenie, wake up." However, Reenie had been laid on the floor of the cell, just far enough away that no matter how hard she tried, Serena couldn't touch her. "Reenie! Small Lady! Come on, sweetheart, wake up, please!"

::How did they know?:: Travis wondered.

"What?" Serena looked up for a moment.

::How did they know that I was Sailor Sol?:: he asked again, this time emphasizing the fact that he wasn't speaking aloud, something she hadn't realized, being so intent on Reenie.

::I don't know. Maybe they saw you detransform when that... whatever... stole your Sun Stone. Right now, I don't really care, I just want Reenie to wake up!:: Serena's thought slashed back.

Just then Reenie moaned. Serena and Travis breathed collective sighs of relief as she slowly opened her eyes. "Reenie, are you okay?" Serena asked softly.

"Reenie?" the little girl said looking at her. "Who's Reenie? My name's Serena. And who are you? Where are my parents?"

Serena's eyes got wide and she gasped in shock. "No," she said in an agonized whisper, "No, it's too late! The future's changed! She's failed... we failed..."

Reenie groaned and put her head into her hands. "My head hurts," she moaned. "What happened?"

Serena was still staring in horror and disbelief, so Travis answered, "You got captured by youmas. Do you remember?"

Reenie's head suddenly snapped up. Her eyes looked a little wild. She looked over at Serena. "Mommy?" she said. "What just happened? It... it felt like I was a different person, and for a minute, I couldn't remember you."

"We're coming close," Travis answered quietly. "Very close to the time when this timeline can't be changed back. At least, that's what I'm assuming."

"So... I'm becoming that other Reenie? The one who was born in 2005? No!" Reenie suddenly said forcefully. "I won't let it happen! I won't forget, and I will change the future back!" She looked over to her mother and moved towards her. They hugged as best they could with the bars between them. "Won't I?" she asked in a whisper.

"Of course you will," Serena told her. "You've already made a difference. You helped Mina and Lita decide to keep fighting once they lost their powers, didn't you? If you hadn't been here, they might have quit then and there, but they didn't, and they're not going to."

"I think you had more to do with it then me," Reenie replied, still

downcast.

"Maybe," Serena agreed. "But you're the one that convinced me."

Reenie looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

"I couldn't let them stop fighting because of what would happen to `you'," Serena told her. "If you hadn't come back, and shown us what the world was like in the future, I would have thought that them giving up was the best thing for them to do. So `they' wouldn't get hurt. If you hadn't come back, I would have `begged' for them not to fight. And I think that's what originally happened in the second timeline, but it hasn't, so things are changing."

All three suddenly looked up as a piece of wall in the back of one of the empty cells suddenly opened. Their eyes went wide as they saw who it was.

"Crystal! What are you doing here? You need to get out, quickly!" Travis said, almost in desperation.

"Travis," Serena said sharply. "Look at her! Look at what she's wearing! She's `working' for them."

"That's impossible!" Travis shook his head, not wanting to believe the evidence in front of his eyes. Crystal stood there in a gray Negaverse uniform, and had just come through a secret door as if she had perfect knowledge of where it led to. "She's just wearing that so she wouldn't get stopped, right?"

Quartz sighed. Crystal was watching through her eyes and Quartz could feel the tears pouring down her sister's face. "I'm not Crystal," she said. "My name is Quartz."

"So, you used a different name on Earth," Serena said. She sounded angry and sad all at once. "How could you do this to him?"

"I'm not Crystal," Quartz said again. "I never have been."

Serena just looked at her.

"Maybe it isn't really her," Travis spoke up.

"How could there be someone else who looks exactly like her?" Serena asked.

"That's it, isn't it?" Travis asked. "You just look like her for some reason. To try to trick us." But even Quartz could see he no longer believed that.

"If she was trying to trick us, wouldn't she have said she `was' Crystal?" Serena asked. "Who are you? And why do you look so much like her if you're not her?"

Quartz smiled. "You, of all people, should have heard of twins," she said.

"So Crystal is evil and from the Negaverse?" Reenie asked.

Travis almost collapsed against the front bars of his cell. "Crystal," he whispered.

"No!" Quartz answered. "We are not evil! We do what we must to protect our world and our people just like you do! We fight to protect our family, just like you do, Sailor Moon, Sailor Crescent Moon, and you, Sailor of the Sun!"

Travis' fists clenched as Serena and Reenie drew back, looking at her in disbelief.

Quartz shook her head. "Even if I didn't know before, I would have after that last conversation you had! Don't you know that everything that's said in here is recorded? You're just lucky I erased all of that."

Serena shook that off. "How can you possibly say that you're working for the good of your planet by hurting ours? For the good of your family, by harming or... or killing ours?" Serena started to yell.

"What?" Quartz exclaimed. "The plan I thought up should have stopped anyone from getting hurt! Your parents weren't even supposed to know you were kidnapped! What went wrong?"

"You thought up that plan?" Travis growled. "I'll tell you what went wrong. Our family was not going to let us be taken away like that, and that goon shot Uncle Jake, threw Uncle Ken into the wall, and would have killed Aunt Ellen if Uncle Ken hadn't thrown himself in front of it! And now they're all probably dead, and it's all your fault!"

Quartz took a step back, her eyes wide. On the other side of the link, Crystal cried out. This was not what they had expected; this wasn't what they had wanted. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be! "Nobody was supposed to get hurt," Quartz whispered.

"What did you expect? They're monsters," Serena was sobbing even as she said it. "And so are you!"

"It's not like that! You don't understand! Not everyone here is evil, I'm not, my sister's not, our father's not! Under his command we would have been able to move things back, like they had been... before Metallia ruled. Surely you understand wanting peace!"

"You can't get peace by killing people," Reenie spoke up.

"We don't want to kill anyone! Except maybe Spessarite," she finished under her breath. "Look, won't you let me explain?"

"Why? Why do you want to explain, and why should we believe anything you should say?" Serena said in a hard voice. "You and your sister have already proven you can't be trusted, so why should we?"

::This isn't like what you've told me about Serena,:: Quartz thought to Crystal. ::I thought she would at least listen.::

Crystal was already halfway to Serena's house to try to find out what had happened. ::She usually will, at least from what I've seen of her. She's usually ready to give people a second chance.::

::Well it sure doesn't seem that way to me,:: Quartz answered. Looking at Serena all she saw was dislike, almost hatred. The same from the little girl who had called Serena Mommy. She still didn't quite understand that conversation. She turned around and suddenly understood Serena's reaction. Travis' expression was not difficult to recognize. Betrayal. He believed that Crystal had betrayed him, and honestly, Quartz couldn't say he was wrong. And with Travis so set against her, Serena wouldn't believe anything she had to say either. But time was running out. ::Hurt my brother, you hurt me,:: she thought. ::She's taking this as personally as he is.::

::What do you expect?:: Crystal said sadly. ::We should have told them before all of this!::

"All right," Quartz said suddenly. "Why should I explain? Because I need your help. I can't put it much simpler than that. I know you don't have any reason to trust me, and every reason not to, but I'm hoping that you will at least give me a chance to explain."

"You've got part of that right. We don't have any reason to trust you, and every reason not to," Travis spoke up harshly.

"Oh really?" Quartz was getting angry, she could feel her sister's unhappiness through the link. "So you're going to condemn me just because I'm from the Negaverse, and my sister as well? My sister, who probably saved your sister's life by changing her hairstyle so she wouldn't be recognized?"

Quartz walked right up to the bars on Travis' cell. "If I could reach you in there, I would slap you," she hissed. "Don't you dare judge Crystal! You don't know anything about her, or about the Negaverse. I'll go away, and you won't have to see me again, if you answer my next question with a no and are honest about it."

Travis just looked at her.

"If someone, who you knew would do it, said he would kill Serena if you didn't help him against Crystal, would you help him?" Quartz asked in a calm voice.

"They were holding you hostage?" Serena asked, sounding a little more likely to listen.

"Not me," Quartz told her, deliberately turning away from Travis, whose face showed his indecision. "They have our father, and are using him to get me to do what they want. They don't know about Crystal. I'm the one that asked her to help make sure they didn't know who you were. I'm also the one that led you out of here last time you came. So I think you can at least listen!"

Travis' mind was whirling. Crystal was from the Negaverse... Crystal had betrayed him... yet, if what she, no Quartz, was saying was true, she had also helped to protect Serena. But... Crystal had lied to him, and there was no way Quartz could have known enough about him to set up that without Crystal's help.

"She should have told us," he finally said flatly. "If she was actually trying to help us, she should have told us what was happening! Instead she let us walk right into that trap and our families got hurt. She should have trusted us to listen, we would have if she'd told us before."

"And you told her all of your secrets?" Quartz snapped, turning and looking at him again. "You told her about being the Sailor of the Sun, and your sister being Sailor Moon? We made the best decisions we could! Besides, would you have listened? Really? After all the Scouts fought the Negaverse before, they think everyone here is evil."

"But I didn't fight before," Travis answered coldly, his eyes still flat and hard. "I didn't have many preconceived notions of the Negaverse. I thought that it was possible there were some good people here. I don't believe that anymore."

"I don't have any idea why Crystal likes you," Quartz huffed. "You're too thick headed and stubborn!"

"But he's right," Serena said. "We've never seen anyone or thing from the Negaverse that wasn't evil, even if Nephrite did become good," she said in an aside. "And while before this I would have said Crystal was different, I've got to agree with Travis on this one, she should have told us!"

"How could she have?" Quartz was irritated at their refusal to listen to her. ::You'd think they'd never done anything wrong before!:: she practically shouted to her sister.

Before Crystal could answer, the sound of the other prisoners howling came through to her. "Oh, no, I'm out of time," she turned to them, "Please, if nothing else, don't tell them I was here. And... whether you believe it or not, I `am' sorry."

Quartz quickly ducked back through the cell she had come from and out the secret door, closing it behind her.

::What do you think she was up to?:: Travis asked Serena mentally.

::I don't know, but I have the feeling we're going to wish we had listened to her.:: Serena looked towards the door to their cell area. It was slowly opening.

The first ones through the doorway were obviously youmas. There was very little about them that looked even the slightest bit human. Garnite stepped through next with a very gloating look on his face. Following him were two more people. One was very tall and thin with reddish brown hair, the other was gray, his skin and hair almost matching his uniform. The only color in him was dull yellow eyes. More youmas followed them in.

Spessarite stepped forward. "So this is the Sailor of the Sun?" he asked, going up to Travis' cell. "Sailor Sol is your name, I believe?" It wasn't exactly a question.

"Not at the moment, no," Travis replied, looking in the General's eyes.

"Oh, you have a sense of humor," Spessarite grinned nastily. "I will enjoy removing it from you."

"I'd like to see you try," Travis said, glaring at him.

"Oh, you will," Spessarite gloated. "Rhyolite here thought the same thing. He believed that he could keep his own mind even with the new brainwashing techniques. He was wrong," Spessarite grinned. "Isn't that right, Emperor Rhyolite?"

Rhyolite looked up with blank eyes. "That is correct, Master," he said in a monotone.

"Now that I have my own emperor, I decided that I really needed a Sailor Scout to fill out my collection." As Travis started to open his mouth, Spessarite waved him into silence. "Yes, yes, I know, you'll fight me to your last breath. The question is," and now Spessarite's eyes were hard and cold, "Would you fight until their last breath?" He waved a hand behind him at the cells holding Serena and Reenie. "We've already learned just how much family loyalty can do even here in the Negaverse, I'm sure it must be much stronger for a Sailor Scout, right?"

He motioned to two of the youmas. "Drag him out here," he ordered. To another he said, "Get the little one, I think she would be the best hostage for his good behavior right now."

"No!" Serena and Travis yelled. Serena and Reenie moved to the back of their respective cells and held on to each other through the bars. "I won't let you take her!" Serena shouted, holding on desperately to the little girl as a youma entered Reenie's cell.

Travis threw himself at the bars of his cell, trying to reach Spessarite, but was thrown backwards when the bars turned electrified.

"Travis!" Serena gasped. As she was distracted, the youma moved forward and pulled Reenie from her arms. "No! Reenie!" Serena yelled.

"Serena!" she yelled back, reaching for her mother. Their hands caught and held for one moment before the youma yanked the little girl away, separating them.

Spessarite was glaring at Travis. "Try that again, and she will pay," he said, pointing towards Reenie, still struggling in the youma's arms. "After all, if we do kill her, we still have another hostage left

behind."

Travis stood still and silent as the youmas came up to him and grabbed him by his arms.

"::Travis!::" Serena shouted with both voice and mind.

::It'll be all right, Serena. You'll see, we'll get out of here somehow.:: He threw her a smile as he finished, but she did not look reassured.

::I don't want anything to happen to you, or to Reenie,:: she gulped, her expression anxious and worry coloring her mental tone. ::Stay in contact with me, please,:: she begged.

::I'll try,:: was all he promised.

Serena stood at the front of her cell with tears coursing down her face as Travis and Reenie were taken away. Once the youmas had all left, she collapsed, sobbing.

Quartz had been watching from the monitoring room and came back in once everyone was gone.

Serena looked up once she became aware of her, and stared for a long moment at the understanding and anguished expression on the other girl's face. "Rhyolite's your father, isn't he?" Serena managed to gasp out in between sobs.

Quartz nodded silently. "Spessarite did the same thing to us... if he fought, I would get hurt, if I fought, he would," she sighed. "Even that would be better than this I think."

"Why weren't you brainwashed?" Serena asked shakily.

"Because," Quartz whispered, kneeling down outside the cell, but keeping her eyes locked on Serena's. "I had something that he wanted desperately, and couldn't have gotten if my memories were wiped, Sailor Sol's real identity."

Serena looked away. "So you sold out your sister's boyfriend for your own life," she said, semi-accusingly. "What did Crystal think of that?"

"Oh, she was furious," Quartz looked down. "Especially since I wouldn't have known who he was if I saw him and couldn't have come up with that plan if she hadn't been talking to me about him. She blamed herself, but finally agreed to go along with it. If she hadn't... he `would' have killed Father, I'm positive about that."

"He would really kill Reenie if Travis fights him?" Serena asked, hoping Quartz would tell her no.

"Oh, definitely," Quartz sighed. "He wouldn't feel any remorse about it either. I sometimes think he's one of Metallia's greatest creations. She would certainly have been proud of him."

"Metallia? Who's Metallia?" Serena asked.

"So now you're ready to listen, hmm?" Quartz looked off into the distance. "To make you understand everything, I need to tell you the history of the Negaverse, okay?"

"History? Yuck, I hate history," Serena stuck out her tongue. She had almost stopped crying, but every now and then an unnoticed tear would run down her face. "I'll listen," she told Quartz.

"Millennia ago, the Negaverse was very like your own universe. We had many kingdoms spread across the land. Sometimes they fought each other, more often they didn't. One kingdom however, slowly became stronger. It was ruled by a queen named Metallia, and the stories about her said she was a Black Sorceress, using Blood Magic, and the energy of living creatures to turn her army into unstoppable monsters."

"Youmas?" Serena interrupted.

"Exactly," Quartz replied. "Her soldiers were the first youmas."

"The other kingdoms fought, but slowly, one by one, they fell. With each kingdom that fell, Metallia got more people to turn into youmas, and more energy to work on her experiments. It took several decades, but eventually Metallia was almost the undisputed ruler of the Negaverse. There was only one small kingdom that had managed not to fall under her sway, and they were in an isolated corner of the world. It wasn't so much that they fought her off, but that she ignored them for a while because they weren't much of a threat."

"Let me get this straight," Serena said when Quartz stopped for a breath, "Everyone in the Negaverse was a human until Metallia changed them into youmas. So what about those people that were still human?"

"Looking human was a mark of rank," Quartz explained. "The higher rank you had, which usually meant the more power you had, the more you looked human. Most youmas, especially at that time, wanted desperately to be human again, so they did everything they could to bring themselves to Metallia's attention as worthy of rank. It was an incentive program really." Quartz grinned crookedly. "There were also a couple of villages and that one kingdom that were too insignificant for her to bother with."

"What about Queen Beryl? I thought she ruled the Negaverse?" Serena asked. She was interested in the story and it had helped to dry her tears.

"I'll get to that later, let me tell it in order, okay?" Quartz took a deep breath and started again. "Metallia would have turned her attention to those isolated spots of good, if it hadn't been taken by a much bigger prize - Earth. With all the energy the war had given her, she had been experimenting with all kinds of magic, including dimensional gateways. She found that it was very easy to create a gateway to the Earth in your dimension. She gathered her armies together to invade. However, there was more going on in that one isolated kingdom than she was aware of. If she had taken the time to look at it, she probably would have easily gotten through the cloaking spells that covered it, but she had other uses for her power and left that kingdom to others to deal with. And since the human looking ones were too high in rank to bother with something as unimportant as infiltrating a small kingdom, and the youmas were too easily noticeable, no one realized."

"Realized what?" Serena asked, leaning forward.

"There, the last remnants of good had banded together. Among them were the strongest wizards left alive. Somehow, and how would be a story in itself, they managed to get to Metallia and kill her. Or so they thought. It took the last of their energy and they died, but at least they died believing that they had restored peace to the world."

"So they killed her and Queen Beryl took her place, right?" Serena asked.

"Not quite," Quartz shook her head. "To either part. Metallia was definitely gone from the Negaverse, but there wasn't peace. The evil was too widespread. Instead of peace, there was a blood bath as Generals and armies fought over the remains of the empire. It was awful. I think more people died in that civil war, than in Metallia's entire reign."

"Meanwhile, Metallia's human body had been killed, and she had been thrown out of the Negaverse, but she wasn't dead. By that time, she had absorbed so much energy, and contained so much evil, that the death of her body didn't even bother her too much! Upon being thrown out of the Negaverse, she went to Earth where she found a young Sorceress and Princess named Beryl."

"Beryl was from Earth? And a Princess? Does that mean she was related to Endymion?" Serena asked in shock.

"I thought you were from that time period. Don't you remember?" Quartz asked, surprised.

"Remember what?" Serena asked, confused.

"Like the Silver Millennium, the Earth was broken up into smaller kingdoms, with a High King over all. That was Endymion's father. Just like all of the planets had their own Kingdoms, but were also under the rule of Queen Serenity. Beryl was a princess of one of the Kingdoms. However, she wanted to rule them all, as Queen, with Endymion as her King. From what I hear, he didn't want anything to do with her. Probably because he could tell that all she really cared about was herself and power. She did want him, but I doubt she would have paid him any attention if he hadn't been the Prince."

"Anyway, Beryl was so ambitious that Metallia, who was now a being of energy who called herself the Negaforce, had no trouble `convincing' her to help. Beryl used her magic to send them both back into the Negaverse. The civil war had pretty much devastated the armies of youma and those that were left were tired of war. It still took several years before Beryl and the Negaforce were in practically complete control. This time, they made sure that small kingdom was dust," she gave a sick grin. "I've heard some real horror stories about what happened there," she said in an aside.

"Quartz?" Serena said inquisitively, "What does this have to do with anything? I mean, it's an interesting story, but what does it have to do with getting Travis and Reenie, and even your father, away from Spessarite?"

"I just think you need to know the basis of everything. Especially Father, and he'll be entering the story soon, okay?"

"Okay," Serena agreed, settling back down.

"Once the Negaverse was pretty much under control, youma hunting parties sent out to hunt down the last unchanged humans. Beryl was now acknowledged Queen of the Negaverse although the Negaforce controlled her. And together they turned their thoughts towards the Earth. The first kingdom to come under their control was Beryl's own, but no one even realized it, since they believed her parents died of natural means. Beryl decided to try to get the other kingdoms without violence, by causing Endymion to fall in love with her, with a spell if necessary. However, it was then the news came that he was engaged to the Princess of the Moon. This ruined many of Beryl and the Negaforce's plans. They hadn't planned on having to fight the magic of the Kingdom of the Moon at that time."

"So they took it a little slower. It wasn't until they started seriously expanding that anyone took notice of them. The High King sent one of his Generals, who was also one of Endymion's guardians and best friends, to Beryl's Court to ask what she was up to. It was then that Malachite first fell under Beryl's spell."

"Malachite? He was one of Endymion's best friends? You've got to be kidding me!" Serena exclaimed.

"No, Malachite was one of Endymion's guardians. Why is that so strange?" Quartz asked.

"Maybe because we killed him," Serena answered. She shook her head. "Does that mean that the others, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite were his guardians as well?"

"That's right, those four and my father, Rhyolite. Malachite went back to his normal post, and no one knew that he was under a spell. But slowly, he started to subvert the others. Zoisite was the first one to be taken before the Negaforce and placed under control, but before the Prince's wedding, they all were under control. Rhyolite was the last, because he tended to stick close to his Prince, and the brainwashing wasn't quite as thorough on him as on the others. They were in a hurry. Beryl and the Negaforce had managed to take most of the other kingdoms by that time. They were helped by the fact that many Earth people didn't like the Moon Kingdom, thinking that they thought they were above them. They also didn't like the thought of their Prince marrying a Moon Kingdom resident, especially the Princess. A war against the Moon was not entirely unwanted."

"Finally, the last kingdom was overrun and Endymion went to help the Moon against the war he knew was coming. He mourned the lost of his family, and the best friends that he thought had been killed in the fighting, not realizing that they had changed sides. When they attacked the Moon, the brainwashed Earth Generals led."

"There was great cheering when Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity were killed, but father says that even though they were brainwashed to serve the Negaverse, none of the Generals cheered. Sorry," Quartz blushed, "I got a little off topic there. When Queen Serenity used the Silver Imperium Crystal to seal away the Negaverse, it also managed to break Queen Beryl's hold over Rhyolite. However, he knew he was stuck in the Negaverse for the rest of his life, so he made the best of it. He treated his men better than the others, and earned their respect instead of their fear."

"Sounds like you agree with that philosophy," Serena said.

"Oh, I do," Quartz quickly agreed. "I've seen how much better our troops are than the other Generals'. They're also far more loyal, because they know he is loyal to them. Besides, no matter what they look like, they're people too."

"So how come you and Crystal look so human?" Serena asked. "Are you that important here, or what?"

"Hmm? Oh, no," Quartz grinned. "You know how I told you that in isolated corners of the Negaverse, there still lived families, occasionally even villages, that Queen Metallia had overlooked, because she had more important things to think about? Villages where the people were still good, human, and not tainted with evil? Well, in one of these, lived a young woman that Rhyolite fell in love with, married, and had children - Crystal and me."

"So we pretty much come to the present. Queen Beryl didn't trust Father by the time they fought against you, and didn't really have the energy to waste brainwashing him again. When you killed Beryl, `and' the Negaforce and sealed up the Negaverse, it came close to civil war again. If Father hadn't accepted the Crown when his troops asked him to, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people would have died."

"So why did you decide to attack the Earth? If all that Rhyolite wanted was peace?" Serena asked.

"Peace was all that Father really wanted, unfortunately, there was still a good chance of mutiny by other Generals who still had troops of their own. They wanted a fight with Earth. Father couldn't say no without totally antagonizing them, so he sent Crystal down to look around. Actually what he was hoping was that you Scouts would take care of Spessarite, and then he could say that the Negaverse had lost too many Generals to Earth, and we'd have to leave you alone for a while. Then Spessarite found out about it, all because I didn't pay enough attention to who was around and talked about it where one of his agents could hear." Quartz looked disgusted with herself. "And he caught us, learned that I was Rhyolite's daughter, which wasn't known so people couldn't use me against him and brainwashed Father."

::I almost think I believe her,:: Travis' thoughts came to Serena.

::You were listening?:: she asked, surprised because she hadn't felt him. ::Are you okay? How about Reenie? Is she okay, did they do anything to her? Did they do anything to you?:: she asked in a hurry as what had happened about ten minutes ago reimpacted her mind.

::I think they believe in anticipation torture,:: Travis tried for humor. ::They just strapped me down in this chair and left me here. Reenie's right next to me, and she says she's fine.::

::That's all? They just strapped you down and left you? Why would they do that?:: Serena wondered.

::I don't know, but there's nothing else happening... Weird smell in the air though...::

::Travis?:: Serena asked, ::Are you sure you're okay?::

::Yeah, I'm sure,:: Travis answered.

Serena turned back to Quartz. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Could you... could you heal him?" Quartz asked shakily. "I thought we could handle it ourselves, but that's before I saw how he was after they got through with him. That's why we didn't ask for your help earlier. We've always managed on our own before!" she finished defiantly.

"I wish I could," Serena told her. "But I can't."

"Just because we're from the Negaverse? I thought you were starting to believe that we were good," Quartz was angry and stood up quickly. "I guess I was just wasting my time after all! I knew I should have found a way to do it by myself."

"I didn't say I wouldn't! I said I couldn't! Don't you think I would have transformed long before now, if I could? But I can't! I don't have my transformation brooch, and without it, I can't transform. I'm sorry, but I can't help you." Serena had surged to her feet to match Quartz.

::I have the brooch,:: Crystal admitted from where she'd been listening. ::I'm coming home and bringing it with me,:: she told Quartz.

::You can't come here! What if they catch you too?:: Quartz exclaimed.

::Well then, maybe Travis will believe us,:: she answered. ::Hold on a minute, I'm at the Tsukino's house.:: She had stopped for a while to listen to Quartz's recitation.

Crystal walked over to the group of people standing around in the Tsukinos' front yard. She walked over to one she knew. "Hi, Lita," she said. "What's going on? And isn't this Serena's house?" She looked up and almost took a step back. Lita's eyes blazed with anger and worry. She looked as if she'd gladly kill the next person who talked to her and that person was Crystal.

Lita's eyes slowly lost the angry glow, leaving only the worry behind. "Hi Crystal." She looked towards the house again. "Yes, this is Serena's house. It was apparently attacked by several youmas. Serena, Reenie and... Travis, were taken away, and Mr. Jacobson, and Serena's parents were hurt."

Crystal gasped. "Travis... taken? You mean he was kidnapped?" she asked.

"Yes," Lita answered shortly.

"What about the others? How badly are they hurt?" Crystal asked worriedly.

"Last we heard, everyone's going to be okay. Mrs. Tsukino was only bruised, Mr. Tsukino has a concussion and some burns, and Mr. Jacobson has a broken rib. At least, that's all they've found so far." Lita didn't tell Crystal that Amy had scanned them with her computer and found this out.

"Thank Goodness," Crystal whispered, repeated by her sister on the other side of the link. Serena's and Travis' reactions were a little more fervent when Quartz told them what Crystal had told her.

::If she's right...:: Travis thought.

Serena started. It wasn't Travis' thought that was wrong, it was what she expected, but it seemed fuzzy, uneven.

"Quartz," she said quickly. "How do they brainwash people?"

Quartz looked at her. "Well, they usually start with a drug to numb the senses. This helps calm the brain down so it doesn't fight as much. Then they..."

"Can you get me out of here?" Serena asked. "They've already started on Travis!" ::TRAVIS!:: she screamed silently.

::What?:: he asked.

::Keep awake, they're trying to put your mind to sleep so they can brainwash you! Keep awake, and keep Reenie awake!:: Serena continued in as loud a mindvoice as she could summon.

::Okay, okay, I get the picture,:: Travis told her, ::But if you deaden the nerves in my mind with your voice, the drug won't have to!::

::Sorry,:: Serena replied, happy that he still had his sense of humor.

Quartz opened the door to Serena's cell. "Come on, let's get out of here, this will have set off an alarm," she said worriedly, looking over her shoulder. "Now if I help you get Travis and Reenie out of here, you'll help me heal my father, right?" she asked.

"Right," Serena agreed. ::I do believe her,:: she told Travis severely.

::It's your call,:: he answered, deadly serious. ::I just pray you're right about her.::

::I'll be by to get you two out,:: she said quietly. ::Keep yourself and Reenie awake, please!::

::I will,:: he answered.

As Serena stepped out of her cell, the yells of the youmas in the outer cells started up again. "They came sooner than I thought," Quartz said worriedly. "I'm going to have to slow them down here. Listen carefully. Travis and Reenie should be in the security wing of the hospital tunnels." Quartz gave detailed instructions of which tunnels to take and where the secret doors were. Serena tried desperately to remember it all. Quartz shoved Serena through the secret door and closed it behind her.

Quartz quickly closed the door to Serena's cell and moved into another unoccupied one, hiding beneath the cot. A troop of youmas marched in. The leader took one look around and then ordered a thorough search. "Nobody's left, so she's got to be in here somewhere," he said.

The youmas spread out and searched. Quartz felt an instant of hope. They're searching was lackluster and they weren't doing more than glancing in the cells. That hope took a downward plummet as the head youma called them back and made them do a very thorough search of the cells. As one youma entered the cell she was in, she rolled out from under the cot. Sharp shards of crystal flew out of her hands, impacting the youma. With a bound, she was past him, and locked the door behind her as she left, trapping the youma inside.

Two more youmas were coming straight at her, and she searched around for something to help. She grabbed a nearby bucket, and as one youma came too close she threw more crystal shards at him, her attention taken by the other youma. With a bound she jumped into the air and barely managed to escape the tentacles coming straight at her. She dumped the bucket on top of the second youma and grabbed its belt knife as she went past.

With knife in one hand and her other hand open and ready to throw the crystal shards at any one that came close, she backed up until her back and side were covered by walls, and waited for them to come to her.

Meanwhile Serena was stopped at an intersection. *_What did she say_?* she thought to herself. *_Um... left, I'm supposed to turn left... right? Or is it right? I can't remember!_* she wailed to herself.

::You're supposed to go straight here and left at the `next' intersection,:: Travis said. ::At least one of us was paying attention.::

::I was paying attention!:: she told him. ::I just can't remember!::

With Travis' help she reached the security wing. Without more than a cursory glance around she opened the door and walked in. "Travis! Reenie!" she called, seeing them strapped down to chairs in the middle of the room. She started to run towards them.

Travis' eyes got wide. "Serena! Behind you!" Reenie screamed.

Serena turned quickly to see several youmas in the room and more coming behind them.

"I believe you're caught," Spessarite's gloating voice came through loud and clear. "You might as well give up now."

"Never," Serena said, backing towards her family. *_But what am I going to do? I can't fight all of these without my powers!_*

Uh oh! Seems like they're in trouble, doesn't it? What's going to happen next? I guess you're just going to have to read chapter 14 to find out. ^_^

Remember to tell me what you thought! I really love to know!


	15. Chapter 14

Sorry! Sorry! I didn't know it was Tuesday! I thought today was Monday! I didn't mean to put it out late!

Good morning, afternoon or evening, whichever the case may be, and welcome to another episode of Universal B. I know some of you have been wondering what the B stands for, and it is now time for you to know. Look below. See the title of this chapter? Well, there you have it. That's the B. Took long enough to get to it, right? Congratulations Mordenkainen, for figuring it out!

Remember the disclaimers, and keep the peace. grin

And remember, that I really do like reviews.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Chapter 14: Belief

Quartz looked at the youmas surrounding her. She had managed to keep herself free for almost ten minutes, but knew she couldn't keep it up for much longer. From the gloating looks on their faces, the youmas knew it too.

*_Lot they know,_* Quartz grinned to herself. *_As if I'd ever let myself be caught as easily as that. Serena should have had enough time to get to Travis, and they should now be convinced of my sincerity. Geesh, they're hard sells, especially considering I meant every word_.* With that thought, Quartz put up her knife and put down her hand.

"Ready to surrender I see," the head youma purred.

"Oh, I wouldn't say so," Quartz purred back. With a quick movement, her arms touched three points on the wall behind her. As the youmas looked on in shock, the floor fell from under her and she dropped down a long chute towards the bottom levels of the fortress.

::Okay, I'm away,:: she thought to Crystal. ::Now what's this plan you have?::

::I want to get the Scouts to the Negaverse,:: Crystal replied. ::Especially Tuxedo Mask.:: Back on Earth, Crystal was still with the other girls. Although they had rather pointedly mentioned that they wanted to be alone, she had `misunderstood' and was still around. She looked off to one side, where a tall figure stood with rage and worry written all over his face and a golden falcon on his shoulder. ::If you open a portal to the Negaverse, they'll come, especially `him'.::

::Won't they think it's a trap?:: Quartz asked, even as she headed towards the portal room.

::Yes, they will,:: Crystal replied. ::But if you could see them, you'd realize that at the moment they wouldn't care. They want their friends back. Period.::

::I still don't see why you want them here,:: Quartz said. ::Without their powers, they're practically worthless.::

::You obviously haven't seen them fight,:: Crystal replied. ::And in this kind of mood, they will do whatever is necessary to get Serena, Reenie and... and Travis back.:: Her mental voice cracked and Quartz suddenly understood.

Crystal was scared. She had gone along with the plan because she wanted to save her father, but the idea that Travis might fall into the same straits hadn't really impacted on her. She hadn't really believed how far Spessarite would go. She hadn't seen for herself how he had acted, she had only heard about it. Now, after seeing what had happened to Serena's and Travis' family, and seeing how that had impacted on their friends, suddenly it was real. It was dangerous. And she was grasping at straws to try to fix it.

Quartz stopped. ::Look Crystal,:: she thought gently. ::Bringing them into the Negaverse when they have no powers of their own is only more likely to get them hurt or killed, and you don't want that, do you?::

::No, of course not,:: Crystal agreed. ::But Tuxedo Mask would be a big help, and if he goes, the others are going to go too.::

::Any help would be good right about now,:: Quartz reluctantly agreed. ::Are you going to come through with them?::

::Mm hmm, sure am, whether they want me to or not,:: Crystal said determinedly. ::And if I can get the Silver Imperium Crystal to Serena, she can heal Father!::

::I still say it's a stupid plan,:: Quartz told her even as she opened the portal. ::It's just going to give Spessarite another five hostages to use against Travis and Serena.:: *_Not to mention another one to use against me and Dad_,* she finished the thought to herself. If Crystal heard, she chose to ignore it.

On Earth, outside of the Tsukino's house, the remaining Scouts had gathered in a group to discuss what to do. They knew it was rude to exclude Crystal, who was standing not far away, staring into space. Still, what they were discussing was sensitive material.

"What are we going to do?" Mina asked, absently petting Artemis.

"I don't know if there's anything we can do," Amy said softly. "They needed all three stones and the Crystal Time Key to go to the Negaverse the first time, we have none of those. Unless we can find an open portal, there's no way we can go after them."

"We can't just stand here and do nothing!" Lita exclaimed.

"Yeah, who knows how much trouble Meatball Head is getting into over there," Raye said, trying to cover her emotions.

"Find a way, Amy," was all Darien said.

"I'm trying, Darien," Amy told him.

Luna and Diana were huddled up together in Darien's arms. Diana had seen the head youma as he was leaving and recognized him instantly. She was still trembling from the memories he brought back. Luna was trying to comfort her, while at the same time calming herself down. Seeing Serena taken away like that... she shuddered, remembering. "I wish I could claw that man's eyes out," she hissed to herself. Diana, listening, felt reassured.

Suddenly Amy's computer beeped. She pulled it out and punched a few buttons, then her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Darien asked immediately.

"A portal," Amy whispered. "There's an open portal less than two blocks from here."

"It's a trap," Raye said.

"So?" was Darien's reply as he took off running in the direction Amy pointed.

"Yeah, so?" Lita said, less than a step behind him. "It's the only chance we have."

The other Scouts took out after them as well.

"Hey, wait for me!" Crystal called out. She ran to catch up to them. "If this has something to do with Travis, I want to know about it."

"It's too dangerous, Crystal," Mina said.

"But you're going!" Crystal responded. "It can't be okay for you and not for me. Besides, if you don't let me come with you, I'm just going to follow. I want to know that Travis is all right! And Serena and Reenie, too, of course."

"There it is!" Lita called out. Everyone looked forward to see a shifting section of darkness.

"As far as my scans can determine, nothing has come out," Amy announced.

"It's definitely a trap," Raye said looking at it.

"Should we go through?" Mina asked softly.

"We've got to," Lita told her.

"We don't have a choice," Darien said.

::Start to close it, Quartz,:: Crystal asked. ::Don't give them a choice or time to think.::

"It's closing!" Amy exclaimed.

Lita turned to Crystal. "I'm sorry about this," she said with an apologetic look. "But it's in your best interest." With only that much warning, she pulled back and punched her on the chin. Crystal dropped quickly. "Let's go," Lita said.

Darien nodded at her, then put down the cats he was still carrying and pulled out a rose. Tuxedo Mask headed into the portal with the Scouts and guardians close behind him. Crystal was still unconscious outside.

::Crystal? Crystal!:: Quartz called when she lost her sister's mental touch. It was almost a minute later that Crystal groaned and sat up.

::I didn't expect that,:: she said in a pain filled thought, ::Lita knocked me out so I wouldn't follow them.::

::So... they know,:: Quartz thought fatalistically.

::No, I don't think so. They just didn't want me getting hurt in the Negaverse,:: Crystal replied. ::I think that's why anyway.::

::I don't think I can go in and try to stay with them now,:: Crystal said thoughtfully. ::Let's meet in the tunnel under Father's quarters, okay? I think we can both get there easily, and as far as I know, no one but us knows about it.::

::I'll be there,:: Quartz agreed. Crystal stepped through the portal which had just opened before her, and, for the first time in months, stepped within the Negaverse again.

Meanwhile, in a room in the security wing of the Negaverse palace, Serena kept backing away from the advancing youmas. "Watch out!" Travis shouted, "Don't let them back you into a corner!"

Serena took a deep breath and nodded. Her mind was racing, trying to find a way out of this predicament. Half of her was terrified and just wanted to run, but she fought it down. She was not going to run and leave the others behind. With a cry she suddenly threw herself forward. The youmas didn't expect this, having become used to her backing away from them. She managed to get in several good strikes among the group before bursting out of the back of the pack.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself as she'd been taught. She found herself wishing desperately that she had begun martial arts training much earlier in life; the three months she'd been taking classes seemed woefully inadequate.

"Believe in yourself, Serena," Travis suddenly said seriously, "You can do it if you just believe in yourself." He shrugged and grinned as Serena threw a glance over at him, wondering if the drugs had started to get to him. "Hey, it always works when Tux says it."

Reenie giggled. "Yeah, believe in yourself and you won't even need Sailor Moon!"

Serena smiled as she heard her daughter giggle. She didn't see the sudden thoughtful expression on Travis' face as she set herself to attack again. She charged forward and jumped into the air in a jump kick. She landed and jumped again, only to have her leg grabbed by a youma she was trying to jump over. She fell hard and had to fight off the pain as she rolled away from the hands grabbing for her and kicked off the one holding onto her ankle.

She rolled desperately, trying to get free of the pack of youmas, or at least enough room to get to her feet. She yelped in disgust as she rolled across the trail of slime that one youma had left behind. *_Come on Serena, you've got to `jump'!_* Gathering her will as much as she could, she leaped up, sailing over the tops of the youmas bearing down on her. "A powerjump! Yes!" she cheered.

"I didn't know she could do that untransformed," Reenie leaned over to whisper to Travis.

"Amazing what you can do if you have to," Travis said absently. "Reenie," he said, his expression suddenly intense, "What do the Scouts use to transform in the future? Do they have new pens?"

Reenie thought for a long moment. She wasn't sure why he wanted to know... *_Maybe he's hoping to find the newest pens!_* she suddenly thought, becoming hopeful. Then her hopes fell. "I don't think so, Uncle Travis," she said in a sad tone. "I've never seen them use pens to transform, they just do."

Travis didn't seem to mind that answer at all. "I don't have many memories of the Moon Kingdom, but I don't seem to remember mother's Scouts using pens to transform either, just hers."

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Reenie asked, confused.

"Maybe... maybe she can transform without the brooch," Travis answered hesitantly.

"Transform without it?" Reenie asked. "Is that possible?"

"I don't know," Travis answered, "I just don't know."

Serena was a little too busy to pay attention to the low voiced conversation going on between the captives behind her. Her jump had taken her out of immediate danger, but the danger had come straight back for her. Once more she was in the middle of it, with kicks, punches, blocks and occasionally throws. She was very aware of the fact that if Spessarite hadn't wanted her alive, she would be dead by now. As she jumped again, a youma with a long reach managed to snag her leg. This time she wasn't allowed to roll away as hand after hand grabbed her arms and legs, holding her down.

"Serena!" Travis and Reenie yelled. They were very surprised when their yells were echoed from the now open door.

As they looked on in disbelief, Tuxedo Mask entered the room, followed by the rest of the Scouts and the guardians. The youmas were also surprised, and not ready for the barrage of roses hitting among them. Apollo started dive bombing the heads of the youmas holding Serena as the cats wove through the horde to get to her. They also attacked with claw and fang, and the surprise of these attacks soon caused Serena to be released. She hugged the three cats to her in relief. "You're here," she murmured.

Apollo yelled, "Look out!"

Serena looked up to see more youmas bearing down on her. She took a deep breath and set herself, then powerjumped to the other side of the room. She landed next to Reenie and quickly started to untie her.

Meanwhile, Tuxedo Mask was throwing roses and using his cane to block and jab. Raye stood in the middle of the room with her eyes closed, before exploding into motion, throwing out a circle of charms in all directions. Mina and Lita were in the middle, punching, kicking, and doing a lot more damage than anyone expected.

"Enough of this!" Spessarite called. "Kill them!"

"Get out of here!" Travis yelled, panicked.

"Are you kidding? We can take these guys!" Lita called back. She looked around at the youmas and suddenly gulped. "Um... or maybe not," she said stepping back.

The others did as well. The youmas facing them had suddenly sprouted knives and sharpened claws. Several had energy gathering around their hands or eyes. They were also in between Serena and Reenie, and the others. Travis had also been separated from the others, but the youmas were smart enough to realize that Spessarite had not meant him in his kill orders.

"Get out of here!" Serena yelled. "You can't fight them!"

"We're not leaving you!" Raye yelled back, dodging desperately from a set of claws coming straight for her. She threw a charm at the youma, temporarily stunning it.

Apollo suddenly backwinged to a hover in front of Serena. "There's a hole in the roof, over in the corner. If you can jump high enough, it's big enough for you to get through and there doesn't seem to be any youmas in the next room."

Serena nodded but looked at her brother instead. ::Go,:: his thought came slashing in. ::I'll be fine with you to keep me awake and aware. Besides, I think I might know a way we can win.::

"All right," she said softly. Raising her voice, she called to the others. "Go on, I have a way out!"

"No!" Spessarite yelled. "Stop her!"

Several of the youmas headed towards her, but she backed up until she could see the hole. It was big enough for her, even holding Reenie, but the edges were jagged. It was obviously a natural feature, and not a bolt hole of some sort.

She held Reenie tight and wrapped her arms around her. The three cats were squished between them. Looking back at the youma, she jumped.

And fell short.

::Come on, Serena! You've jumped higher than this!:: Travis thought to her.

::That was transformed,:: she thought back. ::I don't even know how I can do it in this form, much less with this much weight!::

::You can do it because you have to,:: Travis said seriously. ::And because you believe you can. What made you falter?::

::Those edges are sharp,:: Serena thought back. ::If I don't go through exactly right, it'll really hurt.::

::And if you don't make it, those youmas have really sharp claws too! And the others aren't going to leave until you do! You can make it. I know you can.::

Serena nodded slowly. Taking a deep breath, and looking over at the others for support, she set her legs and jumped. She almost missed.

Serena almost screamed as she felt the sharp edges tear into her back. Still, she managed to get herself and Reenie over the edge and into the room, before she collapsed from the pain.

"Mommy!" Reenie asked as she got up. She turned to look at her mother and stared.

Serena's eyes were closed, her face clenched in pain. As Reenie and the cats got up and off her chest, she gratefully rolled over onto her stomach and fainted.

Tuxedo Mask was almost out of the room when he suddenly felt Serena in trouble. With a quick glance backward he pushed the girls out of the room, slammed the doors closed and broke the lock with a rose. Then he ran. Jumping from youma head to youma head, he stopped for a moment to glance at Travis, but Travis just jerked his head towards the hole Serena had gone through, his face clenched with worry and echoed pain. Tuxedo Mask nodded and managed to get under the hole without wasting much time fighting or avoiding the youmas trying to catch and kill him. With another look back at his blood brother, he jumped upward, and through the hole, with the jagged edges catching nothing but his cape.

As he landed on the floor of the room above he saw Serena, covered in blood, with Reenie and the cats leaning over her worriedly.

"Serena!" he cried, rushing forward.

She moaned slightly as he carefully picked her up. Her shirt was torn all the way down her back and several deep scratches were bleeding furiously.

With an oath, Tuxedo Mask used his cape as a pad for her back, trying to stop the bleeding. "It's all right, Serena, it'll be all right..." he crooned gently.

"Daddy?" Reenie asked worriedly. "How... how is she?"

"She'll be okay," he says gently, pulling her into a gentle hug. "She just got a nasty scratch on her back and the pain knocked her out." *_I hope_,* he thought.

He picked her up gently and carried her out of the room, not wanting there to be a chance of a youma managing to come through the hole in the floor. Reenie, the cats, and Apollo followed silently, Diana held securely in her mother's mouth. Neither Luna nor Diana were willing to let go of each other at the moment.

"What's been happening?" Tuxedo Mask asked Reenie as he found a secluded corner for everyone to settle down in.

"Yes," Luna said. "Were you treated all right? Did they hurt you, try to brainwash you? What?"

Reenie took a deep breath. "They treated us okay. They knew about Travis being Sailor Sol, but not about me and Serena. Except for Quartz. She knew. She's... Crystal's twin sister."

"What?" Apollo screeched, almost busting their eardrums.

"Crystal's from the Negaverse. Quartz said that she changed Serena's hair so no one would figure out it was her and they were trying to help, but I don't think Travis believed her," Reenie said.

"Why didn't Serena transform?" Artemis asked.

"She can't," Reenie admitted. "Her brooch is missing, it got lost during the fight or something."

"She LOST her brooch?" Luna asked in disbelief.

"I think so," Reenie said quietly. "And... when I woke up here... I... I didn't know who she was. For just a moment, I didn't recognize her. I didn't remember her. Daddy, I don't want to forget my mommy or you," she whispered.

Tuxedo Mask swept his daughter into a hug. "You won't, Sweetheart, you won't." He rested his chin on the top of her head and patted her back soothingly as she sobbed into his tuxedo. "We won't let you forget," he whispered.

It was almost ten very worrisome minutes before Serena groaned and started to wake up.

"I hurt," she whispered hoarsely.

The others quickly gathered around. "Mommy? Are you okay?" Reenie asked in a small voice.

"Yes, Small Lady," Serena said gently, then groaned again as she tried to get up. Tuxedo Mask's cape slid off her back and it became obvious that the cuts had already started to heal. "Tuxedo Mask?" she asked in wonder. "What are you doing here? How did you and the others get here? And where are they?"

Tuxedo Mask swept her into a hug and held her gently for a long moment before finally letting her go. "I thought I'd lost you this time. If that portal hadn't opened when it did, we never would have gotten here."

Serena reached up and gently kissed him. "I'm glad you're here," she said softly. "Where are the others? Were you able to get Travis out?"

"I managed to get the other girls out, but you got hurt and I went after you. Travis is still there."

::TRAVIS!:: Serena screamed with all of her might.

Nothing.

::TRAVIS! PRINCE TRANQUILITY!:: she screamed again with all of her thoughts.

::I hate that name,:: came through very quietly.

::Travis!:: Serena sent in relief. ::Are you okay? It's hard to hear you. Why didn't you answer?::

::It's hard to focus,:: he sent back, his sending a little clearer.

::Then talk to me,:: Serena said. ::You said you had a plan, right? Tell me about it.::

::A plan? Oh... yeah... I remember. It was something that Reenie said, and some things I remembered. I think, maybe, you can transform without the Crystal.::

"::Transform without the Crystal!::" Serena says out loud in her shock.

"Can you do that?" Diana asked in surprise.

"No, of course not," Serena answered out loud unconsciously, but it was transmitting as well. "::I have to have the Crystal to transform. It's what gives me the power to do so.::"

::Is it?:: Travis asked.

"::Yes, it is, what else could it be? Right?::" she looked around at the others who had been listening interestedly to the one sided conversation. "::I get the power from the Crystal.::"

::Then why can't anyone use the Crystal? Or the pens? If all the power is in the objects, then anyone should be able to use them right?::

"::Don't be silly, no one could use the stones or pens except for us,::" Serena told him indignantly.

::Why?:: he asked again.

"::Because... because they're made for us,::" Serena explained. "Right, Luna?"

"The pens and your brooch resonate with your own power," Luna said.

::Ask Luna if mother's Scouts used the pens,:: Travis said.

"::Mother's Scouts?::" Serena asked confused. "::Who are they, and why would they use the pens?::"

"The Queen's Scouts didn't use pens, they didn't have to," Artemis said. "They could use their powers without them."

"They could? How?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"Travis is right," Luna said. "They didn't need the pens to transform, because they could access their power without them. But they were much older and more experienced before they were able to do so."

"Wait a minute," Serena said. "Are you saying that I have power of my own?"

"::Of course you do,::" Luna and Travis said together. Luna continued, "The brooch only focuses the power to allow you to use it. The Crystal has power of its own, of course, but you rarely use it."

"So I could transform without it?" Serena asked.

"I don't think so," Luna said softly. "You're just not experienced enough. It would require a great deal of focus and concentration to do that."

::No, it requires belief,:: Travis said. ::If you think you can transform, you'll find the focus, like you did when you had to jump. You did it because you had to and believed you could.::

"::It's not the same thing Travis,::" Serena said. "::Besides, Lita, Mina, and Raye believed that they could transform when they got their new pens, but they couldn't.::"

::They believed in the pens, not themselves,:: Travis' thought wavered.

::TRAVIS!:: Serena yelled through her mind.

::I'm okay,:: he answered. ::They're upping the dosage, just keep talking to me.::

"::Maybe it's true for the others, but there never used to be a Sailor Moon. I need the Crystal to transform,::" Serena said.

"You didn't start out with it," Tuxedo Mask reminded her. "I seem to remember a long search for that particular Crystal, and you could transform then."

"True, but I had my first brooch," Serena responded. "::And there's the problem with your logic, Travis. I didn't believe in it when I first transformed. I didn't even know what was going to happen.::"

::You're more powerful now,:: Travis replied.

"Luna? Is the power in me or in the Crystal or brooch?" Serena asked.

"You," Luna replied. "The brooch and pens focus and amplify the power. But if it wasn't already there, there would be nothing for the pens to use. They have very little power themselves. However if the power came from the pens anyone would be able to use them. You could say that the pens resonate to the power of the Scouts. The Crystal holds power of its own, but you can transform without it."

"Kind of like the reason Reenie can use all three stones, right?" Serena asked, deep in thought.

"You remembered," Luna said proudly. "That's right, Reenie's power resonates to all three of her bloodlines, so she can use all three stones. The Scout's powers resonate to their pens, so they can use the pens to focus their power enough to transform."

"But they `do' need the pens to transform, right?" Serena asked.

"At this point of time," Luna started.

"There's an easier way to figure it out," Serena suddenly decided. She stood up and closed her eyes, trying to focus as much as she could on what she wanted. She wavered slightly from the pain in her back , but then her stance firmed again. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" she cried as she thrust her hand into the air. She stood there for a long moment as nothing happened, before slumping to the ground again.

Reenie, Diana, and Tuxedo Mask all sighed in disappointment.

::It didn't work,:: Serena said softly to her brother.

She got no response.

::Travis? Did you hear me?:: she asked.

Still no response.

::TRAVIS!:: she screamed silently.

::Wha...?:: Travis' thought was very faint and there was little sense in it.

"::TRAVIS! Wake up!::" she yelled.

Apollo took one look at her worried expression and headed back to the room they had come from.

Apollo came winging back with a worried expression on his beak. "He's unconscious," he said to their questioning expressions. "I couldn't get him awake before the youmas drove me away."

"Travis," Serena said. "We've got to save him."

"We can't!" Reenie cried. "If you can't transform, we can't save him!" She burst into tears.

Serena stared at her daughter's tears and tried one more time to reach her brother's mind. She stood back up, her face determined. She closed her eyes and reached inside of herself. *_I `can' do this_,* she thought to herself. *_I `can' and I `will'! I will because I must. I must for the lives of my family and friends. I will because I believe I can! I believe I can!_* "I believe I can!" she finished out loud. Her eyes snapped open. "I believe I can, and I will! MOON POWER!" she screamed as loud as she could.

As the others watched with bated breath, she started to glow. The familiar ribbons covered her. When the light faded, Sailor Moon stood there. "Yes!" she screamed in delight.

Reenie jumped up and down in delight. "You did it! You did it! We can fight now!"

"It worked," Sailor Moon said softly. "It really worked."

As she turned with a big smile to the others watching, the smile faded. "Wha?" she said, as she detransformed. "No! I can't hold it," she said, flopping down. "It won't stay. What did I do wrong?"

Meanwhile, Quartz and Crystal were holding a meeting of their own. They had met in the tunnel under their father's quarters, and for a long moment just stood there looking at each other.

"Looking in a mirror just isn't the same," Crystal said with a teary smile.

"I know," Quartz responded as they hugged.

"So, what do we do now?" Crystal asked as they finally separated.

"I don't know," Quartz said distractedly. "Serena, I think, believes us. Whether Travis does..." she shrugged.

Crystal looked down at that. "I still can't believe you did that," she said. Then she looked up. "Yes I can," she sighed. "I `do' understand. I don't see how you could stand being here with 'him', though. I think I definitely got the better deal on terms of assignments."

"Oh, I agree with you there," Quartz smiled slightly. "If it wasn't for Father, I would have been glad to go to Earth and never come back."

"But Father is here, and in trouble, and we have to figure out how to get him out. And then we'll take care of Spessarite," Crystal almost snarled.

"Oh yes," Quartz agreed with hard eyes. "Then we'll take care of Spaghetti."

Crystal was forced to giggle at that. "Spaghetti?" she asked.

"It fits him, don't you think?" Quartz grinned.

"It does indeed," Crystal agreed. "He still doesn't know about us, right?"

"Right," Quartz answered.

"Then let's surprise him," Crystal grinned as her clothing flashed and she changed into the uniform of a Negaverse captain. Now the two girls looked exactly alike, all the way to the devilish glint in their eyes.

"Let's go find Serena, and then we can really surprise him," Quartz smiled.

Crystal agreed.

One thought ran through both of their minds. It was good to be together again.

"But you did it," Reenie reminded the disconsolate Serena. "If you did it once, you can do it again."

"It wasn't very strong," Serena said. "I could tell that."

"No, it wasn't," Luna agreed. "The Crystal amplifies your power more than you know. But you did it! I honestly didn't think you could! I never expected you to even be able to go that far. I didn't believe you'd have the focus necessary. I'm very glad to see I was wrong."

"It doesn't do any good, though!" Serena told her. "I need to be able to be Sailor Moon for longer than thirty seconds!"

"You'll get better with time and practice," Luna soothed.

"We don't have time," Serena reminded her.

"Mommy? Why can't I do it?" Reenie asked quietly.

"What do you mean, Baby?" Serena asked softly.

"Why can't I transform on my own? I've got the three stones inside me still. I should have lots of power. Why can't I transform by myself?" Reenie looked unhappy. "I don't like not being able to help," she said softly.

"I know, Sweetheart, but you're too young to use the power of the stones... just like I'm too young to use my own power," Serena sighed.

"Don't, Serena," Tuxedo Mask said.

"What?" Serena asked.

"Don't put yourself down like that," he said. "You did it, even if it was for less than a minute. And maybe that form was a little less powerful than usual. But if you use it at the right time, it'll be a total surprise."

"You mean, don't go busting in there as Sailor Moon, but wait until the last minute?" Serena brightened then her mood darkened again. "But I can't stay in that form for long enough to do any good," she sighed.

Tuxedo Mask smiled and shook his head. "When you really need it, it'll be there, if I know you," he said.

"Of course, it would work even better if we could all do it," Serena said, suddenly brightening again. "If we can find the others, and they can all do it too... That would really be a surprise, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it certainly would be," Apollo said in a thoughtful tone.

"And if I can do it, they can," Serena continued. "After all, I'm the flighty one of the bunch."

"I'm not so sure about that," Artemis answered.

Serena grinned. "Mina's been extremely good lately at leading the Scouts. She hasn't been flighty at all."

"True," Artemis agreed. "And that worries me," he said in an aside. "I used to think the only time that would happen was if the world was coming to an end."

"If we don't do something," Serena said seriously, staring at him, "The world, as we know it, `will' come to an end."

Artemis fell silent.

"So!" Reenie said, standing up. "Let's go find them, and then save Uncle Travis!"

They nodded at each other seriously, and left the secluded corner.

"You do know there's no telling where they might be," Luna said from Serena's shoulder as they walked along.

"Yeah," Diana mewed from Reenie's head. "This place is a maze!"

"I'll go look around," Apollo said. Without waiting for a reply he flew down the corridor.

"Be careful!" Artemis called from Tuxedo Mask's shoulder.

Serena turned a glare on him. "We can't let him go alone," she scolded. "He might get hurt! We need to catch up with him."

Serena started running down the corridor and the others quickly followed. After several twists and turns they saw a greatly excited falcon flying towards them. "I found them! And they're in trouble!"

The already running trio started to run even faster. They followed Apollo through several more corridors until they reached a knot of youmas. They could hear Raye chanting as she threw out her charms. Amy was calling out weak spots and Mina and Lita were talking to each other about their score in taking down youmas. Still there was a nervous edge to their voices.

"If I can't do it now, I'll never be able to do it," Serena said. Luna jumped down as Serena gathered herself. *_I can because I have to,*_ she thought again, almost as a mantra. *I_ believe I can_.* "MOON POWER!"

The youmas all turned to look as did a relieved group of Scouts. They saw Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask standing there ready.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Sailor Moon yelled. Her tiara and Tuxedo Mask's roses took out a great number of the unprepared youmas. Then her transformation faded once more.

By then the remaining youmas were in a rout. The attack from behind had been so unexpected that it threw them into disarray. First one started to run, then the others joined her.

"Serena! You're okay!" was the first remark heard as she was rushed by the other girls. She winced as their hugs ran across her healing cuts, but the little time she had spent as Sailor Moon helped them heal even more. While her back wasn't back to normal, the cuts likely wouldn't break open again.

"Why did you detransform? The fight wasn't over yet," Raye asked as she stepped back.

"And were your transformation words different?" Lita asked.

"The power reading I got on my computer was not as strong as usual, is something the matter?" Amy asked concernedly.

"Artemis!" Mina exclaimed. "You're all right!" She picked up the cat and hugged him until he gasped for breath.

Serena explained what had happened, including her missing brooch and what Travis had figured out about their powers.

"So we might be able to transform even without our pens?" Amy asked. "That would certainly be a great advantage."

"That would be awesome," Lita told her. "Not that I really mind going hand to hand with these guys every once in a while."

Raye was meditating quietly behind them. Her priestess training had taught her how to go into a trance, and she reached downward, into herself. She found what she was looking for, a seething fire at the bottom of her soul. She focused her attention on it, as she would if she was sitting in front of the Great Fire looking for answers to a question, or a glimpse of the future. "MARS POWER!" she suddenly cried, surprising the others. They turned to find Sailor Mars standing there.

Amy got to work with her computer as Raye detransformed. "It looks as though the level of power is comparable to that of Sailor Mars before her power-up," she announced. "And Serena's was similar to her power level when she first transformed."

Mina grinned almost cockily. "If she can do it, I can do it," she said breezily. "VENUS POWER!" she cried. Nothing happened. "Hey!" she cried, "Why can't I transform? I believe I can!"

"You need more than belief, you need to focus as well," Artemis told her. "Focus and 'concentrate'. If you can," he added in an aside.

Mina glared at him for a long moment, then sighed. She nodded and settled down to thinking of Sailor Venus. *_Okay_,* she thought. _*I need to concentrate on being Sailor Venus. Maybe... maybe if I concentrate on how it feels to transform? I know I can do this, after all, Raye did. Of course, she is a priestess. So?_* The others wondered what she was thinking about as she suddenly threw her hair back. *_I am Sailor Venus, and if I'm not able to transform, one of the others might get hurt. And I'm not going to allow that, because I'm Sailor Venus and nobody hurts my friends!_* "I am Sailor Venus!" she said out loud. "VENUS POWER!" As the others watched, her transformation overtook her and Sailor Venus stood posing before them. Seconds later she detransformed.

"Told you I could do it," she laughed, turning and glaring at Artemis.

Lita was next to try. *_Belief, hmm?_* she thought to herself. *_Belief, confidence and focus... I can do this. I know I can. I think. No, Lita, don't think like that. I `can' do this. And as Sailor Jupiter I can do a lot more damage_.* She suddenly grinned. "JUPITER POWER!" she called. Lightning flared around her, and Sailor Jupiter stood there for half a minute before letting the transformation drop. "You're right," she told Amy. "I could tell that the power wasn't as strong. I don't think I can use my newest attack, or the dragon, but I should be able to use Supreme Thunder, right?"

"Correct," Amy agreed.

"Your turn, Amy," Serena smiled.

Amy didn't even bother closing her eyes. She just took a deep breath and called for the power. After seeing the others doing it, she didn't have any problems believing she could do it, or finding the focus she needed. "MERCURY POWER!" she cried. Sailor Mercury stood for a few seconds before letting the transformation fall. She didn't want to waste any power.

"Time to go save Travis," Serena said softly. "Right?"

"Right!" the others yelled back.

"Remember, keep the transformations secret for as long as you can," Luna admonished. "There's no telling how long you'll be able to keep them up once you're in there."

Serena and the others nodded. Serena turned to Reenie. "I don't suppose you would..." she started.

"No, I won't," Reenie said immediately. "I'm helping too!"

Serena knelt down. "All right," she said softly. "I won't try to stop you. But you be careful, all right? Please? I don't want to lose you."

"I promise, Mommy, I love you too," Reenie hugged her tight for a long moment. Then she turned to Tuxedo Mask. "You too, Daddy, you be careful too, okay?"

"I will, Small Lady," Tuxedo Mask said, sweeping Reenie up into his arms for a hug. Serena flowed into his arms as well, and the small family stood together like that for several moments.

"Let's go," Raye finally said.

Serena nodded and pulled away after a moment. Together, the six girls, one guy, three cats, and a falcon headed towards the room they had last run from.

::Hold on Travis, we're coming,:: she thought to him, sure he got the message, even if he never responded.

They reached the door and stood there for a long moment, psyching themselves. "Let's do it," Serena finally said.

The lock was broken, obviously the youmas had forced it open after the Scouts had left.

"Why did they stay here instead of moving to another room?" Amy wondered quietly.

"Let's just be glad they did," Lita said.

Tuxedo Mask threw open the doorway and the Scouts ran in. "Travis!" Serena said in anguish, seeing her brother unconscious in the chair he was still tied to.

"You came back?" Spessarite said gloatingly. "I didn't think you would be that stupid."

Before he could say anymore, another door opened in what had looked like a blank wall. "Spaghetti!" one of the twins cried out as she stood there.

As Spessarite's attention was taken by the troublesome girl who called him that awful nickname, an identical girl walked through yet another door. "Spaghetti!" she said in exactly the same tone of voice.

"Yep, they're definitely twins," Serena muttered, looking at the two absolutely identical girls.

Spessarite turned and stared, doing a doubletake between the two girls. As he was turned away from the first one, she looked at Serena. "Catch!" she mouthed, holding up Serena's Crystal brooch.

Suddenly, from where he'd been standing unnoticed behind Spessarite, Rhyolite spoke, "Quartz, Crystal, your master calls," he said.

Quartz and Crystal stopped instantly. Their eyes went blank and they stared at him.

Spessarite turned without any surprise and kneeled down. "Your plan worked perfectly, Emperor," he said.

"You played your part well, Spessarite. You will be well rewarded," Rhyolite announced.

Rhyolite snapped his fingers and Quartz and Crystal walked towards him. Without hesitation, Crystal handed the brooch to him.

"Humans, so weakwilled, don't you think?" he said conversationally to the shocked Scouts. "So easily brainwashed." He turned to the twins. "Kill them," he said, pointing to the Scouts. "But first, Crystal, kill Travis."

"Yes, Master," they said in a flat voice turning to obey. No trace of emotion remained in their eyes.

This is it, we're coming down to the wire! One more chapter and an epilogue to go and then this one is through! I have trouble believing it myself grin. Thanks, as always, to Doug and Will whose comments, suggestions, and criticisms constantly help to make the story better. Especially Will, who gave me the idea for the biggest twist in this chapter.


	16. Chapter 15

One chapter left! Big battle here!

Chapter 15:

Rhyolite snapped his fingers and Quartz and Crystal walked towards him. Without hesitation, Crystal handed the brooch to him.

"Humans, so weakwilled, don't you think?" he said conversationally to the shocked Scouts. "So easily brainwashed." He turned to the twins. "Kill them," he said, pointing to the Scouts. "But first, Crystal, kill Travis."

"Yes, Master," they said in a flat voice, turning to obey. No trace of emotion remained in their eyes.

"NO!" Serena screamed as Crystal went towards the still unconscious Travis with her knife out. She dove and managed to tackle Crystal to the ground. "What are you doing?" she cried. "You can't hurt Travis!"

"Beg and plead all you wish," Rhyolite said, smiling, "You won't get through to them."

"How could you do this to your own daughters?" Reenie asked, moving quickly away from the still advancing Quartz and ducking behind her father. "They love you!"

"My own daughters? Whatever gave you that idea?" Rhyolite answered.

"But... they said..." Serena was so surprised that her hands lightened up and Crystal was able to throw her off.

"And you believed them?" Rhyolite was amused.

"They lied to us?" Tuxedo Mask asked quietly.

"No, not at all. Everything they told you was the truth as far as `they' knew. They just didn't know everything. Actually they didn't know anything, and that's just the way I liked it. It was very easy, you know. Taking the two girls from Earth when we first attacked and changing them into soldiers totally loyal to me."

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted them," Raye muttered.

Lita was thinking of something else. "Are you saying they're human?"

"Totally," Rhyolite agreed. "I just took their memories of home and family, replaced their father with me, replaced their world with the Negaverse, and kept all those silly ideas of honor and loyalty. They're quite useful you know. Add a suggestion that would twist anything they saw or heard about me into something that fit their notions of me and I have two totally loyal slaves that still have free will."

"Emperor," Spessarite said, "Don't you think we should just kill them?"

"Not just yet, Spessarite," Rhyolite replied. "I want them to understand what has happened, and why two people they trust betrayed them. Because," he continued as Spessarite started to speak, "I want them to know how they were beaten."

"In other words, you want to gloat," Lita remarked.

The tableau held. Quartz and Crystal had both stopped moving soon after Rhyolite started to talk. Serena had thought for a moment they were getting their minds back, but it soon became obvious that they had stopped because Rhyolite wished to talk. Travis groaned lowly as he started to regain consciousness, and Serena started to run towards him, only to be stopped by Crystal standing in front of her with a knife.

Rhyolite's expression flashed with anger, and Quartz started moving towards Lita immediately. However, Rhyolite got himself under control and Quartz stopped as he smiled.

"You could say that," he said. "It's not often that a plan as complicated as this one comes to fruition, so I have the right to gloat. Besides, I would think you would want for me to gloat, after all, it gives you several more minutes to live."

"Let's see, several more minutes to live, but we have to listen to him, or fight immediately," Mina mused. "I choose..."

"Hold on," Amy interrupted quietly. "I have some questions."

"Ask," Rhyolite said lightly, "Since I'm about to destroy the Sailor Scouts, I can afford to be magnanimous."

"How did you know that Crystal would become a friend of the Scouts? The probability of us ever meeting her in a city the size of Tokyo is extremely low."

"I didn't," Rhyolite said. "The girls had total freewill when it came to their plans for Earth. I just made sure they were loyal and honorable, thus they wouldn't turn on me, and let them plan it for themselves. Crystal, answer her question."

Crystal turned, her voice a monotone, "We did not plan on meeting the Sailor Scouts in our civilian identities. Our plan was to find new ways to gather energy and to scout for places that should be taken immediately if we ever did attack the Earth. A junior high school student was the best disguise."

"They came up with some good plans," Rhyolite reflected. "Ways to gather energy that worked, and they even figured out how to steal your pens."

Serena wasn't paying attention. "She remembers," she said softly to herself. "They still remember what happened before. Maybe..."

"But now we have the Silver Imperium Crystal, and the Sun Stone, `and' the Earth Gem, so we really don't need you anymore," Rhyolite said thoughtfully. "And gloating is really bad manners... Finish it." His voice was suddenly the snap of an order and Quartz and Crystal broke out of their immobility.

"Wait a minute!" Amy said. "One more question, please!"

"All right, but this is the last one," Rhyolite said, waving the twins to a stop.

"This whole, you were brainwashed thing. Why? It doesn't make any sense."

"But of course it does," Rhyolite exclaimed. "What better way to motivate them? They never would have gone after the Scouts on their own! Now, that's your last question. Quartz, Crystal, I think you know what you should do." Once more the two girls started forward, Quartz towards the Scouts and Crystal towards Travis.

Travis groaned again and shook his head. "Wha?" he started looking around carefully. "Crystal?" he said, staring at the girl coming toward him with blank eyes.

Crystal sprang forward, keeping her eyes on her target in front of her while keeping part of her attention focused on the girl to her right. The body coming at her from the left was a total surprise.

Tuxedo Mask wrestled with Crystal, trying to get the knife away from her, only to be hit in the side by shards of crystal. As he cried out, Serena looked up from where she was working on her brother's ropes. "Tuxedo Mask!" she screamed and started to move towards him before remembering her helpless brother. She looked down in indecision.

"Go check on him," he ordered, looking up at her. She hesitated a moment, but the sight of her love on the ground with Crystal standing over him, sent her towards them quickly.

As she reached him he was getting painfully to his feet and Crystal had already moved away. He was not her first target. "Are you all right?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," he answered, carefully holding his side. "How about Travis?"

"Travis!" she gasped, turning back around to see Crystal once more bearing down on him, and he still tied to the chair.

Meanwhile, the others were busy with Quartz. Normally, four against one, even one with a knife and the power to shoot out shards of crystal would be no contest, but they were hampered by the fact that they didn't want to hurt her. This wasn't like when a person was possessed by a youma and you could kill the youma without hurting the person, this was a human being they were fighting. Lita and Mina were throwing punches and kicks, trying to get the knife away from her.

Raye darted towards her. "Got her!" she cried, throwing a spirit ward on her forehead. She stopped, paralyzed.

As Serena and Tuxedo Mask watched helplessly, Crystal reached downward. She stopped with a gasp as the link between herself and her sister activated and the power of the spirit ward impacted her as well. Travis came back to his senses, tipping back the chair he was tied to and trying to wiggle away.

"Crystal," Serena cried as Crystal shook herself free of the spillover from Quartz's being paralyzed. "Crystal, please, listen to me. That's Travis, Crystal. You remember Travis, right? He's the boy you like, the one who's always been nice to you, the one you study with, and go on dates with, the one who helped you with my hair." Serena got to her feet and started walking towards her. "Remember when you first came to school and Travis was your guide? Remember when he taught you how to swim? When he told you about our family? Do you remember, Crystal? I know you're in there. I know you can hear me! Please Crystal! Listen!"

Travis' voice joined his sister's. "Do you remember the ice cream soda we shared that first day?" he asked softly. He had stopped moving and was just looking up at Crystal. "The ice cream shop was so busy that they had run out of cups and we had to share, and I said I guess that made you my girlfriend? I thought you'd laughingly disagree, but instead you seemed surprised, but very happy. And I realized I wouldn't mind at all if it was really true. And that surprised me, I didn't think I even wanted a girlfriend. Besides, I figured that a girl as pretty as you wouldn't want anything to do with me."

"Why not?" Crystal's voice was so low that even Travis, just below her, almost missed it.

He looked up quickly, but her eyes were still blank. If it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't moving, he would have thought he'd imagined it.

"Why would you?" he tried to shrug but was unable to. "I mean, besides the fact that I'm rich, what do I have that any girl would like?"

Crystal opened her mouth to answer, but Rhyolite beat her to it. "Enough of this," he snarled, angry that the girls had not managed to do any damage. "Garnite! Finish them!"

Garnite had been in the room the whole time, though no one had been paying any attention to him. It was obvious from his expression that he had no idea what was going on. He had thought that Spessarite was holding Rhyolite prisoner, but now Rhyolite was giving orders and Spessarite not only let him, but obeyed. He didn't know if he was now supposed to obey Rhyolite or not. He turned to look at Spessarite and caught his glare. *_I guess so_,* he thought to himself, as he called a group of youmas from the edges of the room.

As soon as Quartz had been paralyzed, Mina had grabbed her arm and twisted the knife from it. Lita quickly grabbed her other arm and they held on tight as the paralysis wore off and she started to struggle again.

"I think they're getting through to Crystal," Amy said quietly. "If you can, hold Quartz for a little longer. I believe that if they are able to break the conditioning on Crystal, Quartz's will be broken as well."

The others nodded. Even struggling as she was, they could hold her. It was then they heard Rhyolite's order. A rush of youmas headed towards the girls as Garnite and several others headed towards the other group.

Lita and Mina tried to fight the youmas and hold on to Quartz but found themselves unable to. Reluctantly, they let go and then had to deal with fighting her as well. Still, they managed to mostly avoid her as they hit, kicked and threw youmas they `could' use all their strength against without worry.

Amy was dodging a tentacle when she saw Reenie. Several youmas were going after the defenseless girl. Luna, Artemis, Apollo, and even Diana were using teeth, talon, and claw against the encroaching youma, but it did little good.

"Reenie!" Amy cried. Then her face grew determined. *_There's only one way_,* she thought desperately. "MERCURY POWER!" she cried.

Everything stopped. Everyone stared, except the other Scouts, as her transformation covered her. Sailor Mercury looked around for a second. "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" she yelled, covering her side of the cavern with a blanket of fog. Her transformation faded almost immediately, but by then she couldn't be seen. She ran towards Reenie's last coordinates, and managed to dodge between two of the youmas, pick up the little girl, and run away.

Meanwhile, the other Scouts had managed to take out several of the youmas while they were distracted by Mercury's transformation. The cloud of fog helped for a little while, until they couldn't tell if they

were fighting friend or foe.

Rhyolite was incensed. "I thought they couldn't transform without their pens!" he roared. He turned his glare on Spessarite. "And they `don't' have their pens, do they?" he said in a calmer but ice filled voice.

"No, Emperor," Spessarite almost gulped. "Their pens are right here," he said as he pulled the four pens out of his pocket. "That `was' Sailor Mercury. Perhaps she managed to build something that would work like a pen, but if so, she obviously didn't have time to build more than one, since the others haven't transformed," he finished quickly, his words almost tripping over each other in his haste not to be blamed.

Rhyolite considered his words for a moment before nodding his head. "Perhaps, you're right," he agreed. Spessarite sighed in relief.

Their eyes turned to the part of the fight that could still be seen. Serena and Tuxedo Mask were fighting the youmas that Garnite had brought with him, while Crystal was still standing there, her eyes still blank. Travis was still on his back, tied to the chair. He had tried wiggling loose, but the ropes were too tight.

Garnite moved quickly behind the fighters. It was not his way to attack openly and from the front unless he had an overwhelming advantage. Instead, he attacked as he usually did. From behind.

Serena and Tuxedo Mask screamed as the fire from Garnite's attack hit their unprotected backs. He turned to Travis and attacked.

Suddenly, as she watched, Crystal's eyes lost their blank look. "NO!" she screamed, throwing herself in between Garnite and Travis. The attack took her in the stomach, sending her backwards into the wall.

From inside of the rapidly dissipating fog bank, Quartz screamed as well. The pain was transmitted from Crystal to Quartz, breaking the compulsion on her as well. She headed towards Garnite with murder in her eyes, as did the rest of the Scouts. They were too late.

As Reenie watched Garnite take down her parents, for the second time, she screamed as well. Jerking herself from Amy's arms as the girl tried to keep her safe, she ran towards him. "You killed Sammy, and Mika, and hurt Mommy and Daddy! I won't forgive you! I won't let you hurt anyone else!" Her anger, fear, and pain combined and without thought, she did the same thing she had done in that strange future. The crescent moon showed on her forehead as her moonbeam formed around her. She threw herself at the one who had caused her and her family so much pain.

He screamed as the moonbeam and moon child hit him together. She grabbed him around the waist and he tried desperately to push her away as the moonbeam burned him.

"Help me!" Reenie sobbed as she felt her moonbeam collapsing around her and knew it had not been enough.

Serena and Tuxedo Mask struggled to their feet. "Garnite!" Serena called even as she raised her hand. "MOON POWER!" she called transforming once more into Sailor Moon. "You should not have messed with my family! MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

Tuxedo Mask was silent, letting his roses speak for him.

As the tiara and roses flew towards the doomed Captain, Reenie struggled to hold the moonbeam together until they got there. She was determined to have a part in Garnite's destruction. The three attacks combined even as they hit and Garnite turned to dust.

Sailor Moon lost her transformation and collapsed. Reenie also collapsed, sobbing.

Serena groaned as she pushed herself slowly to her feet. The pain in her back was added to the half healed cuts already there, but she desperately tried to push it to the back of her mind. Her daughter was crying and she hobbled as fast as she could towards her. Tuxedo Mask was just a step behind.

Quickly but painfully, Serena sat down next to her daughter. She reached out carefully and put her hand on her shoulder. Reenie turned around and threw herself at her mother, sobbing desperately. Serena caught her and rocked her, not saying a word as she let her cry herself out. The two of them sat there for a long moment, the only sound Reenie's low sobs.

The others stood gathered around, facing outward, their expressions daring anyone or anything to try to break up the touching scene.

"Thank you, Reenie," Serena whispered as the sobs turned into hiccups. "Thank you for saving me."

"He's dead, right?" Reenie asked with her head still buried in Serena's shoulder. "He's not going to hurt anyone ever again, right?"

"Right," Serena agreed. "Never again. He'll never be able to hurt anyone ever again."

"I'm glad," Reenie whispered. "I hated him, Mommy. I don't think I've ever hated anyone before."

"Don't hate him, honey," Serena answered. "He's not worth it. He isn't."

Rhyolite's expression was hard and angry. One of his Captains taken down by a little girl! His expression just got angrier as he saw Crystal, one of his greatest creations, setting Travis free. He turned to Spessarite. "Kill them all," he ordered. "Even my `daughters'. It's obvious their brainwashing is failing. They're of no use to me now."

Spessarite stepped forward with a grin. They were going to pay for calling him Spaghetti! If he managed to kill the Sailor Scouts as well, he'd be a hero, and one step closer to his own plans for stealing the Throne.

Crystal and Quartz joined the line of determined Scouts. "Come on, Spessarite," Crystal said. "Let our father go."

The Scouts threw confused glances at each other at those words. "I thought the brainwashing had been broken," Lita hissed.

"Apparently only the top level was," Amy replied quietly. "It was fairly new, so it was easy to break, but the compulsion that their father is a good person is too strong to break like that."

Spessarite stepped forward. "Do you really think you can stop me? A person in a tuxedo and a group of junior high school girls with no powers whatsoever? This shouldn't take more than a minute or so."

"That's what all your youmas thought," Mina said defiantly. "Even without our powers, we're a match for an annoying creep like you."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Spessarite smiled evilly.

"Blow it out your ear," Lita said snidely.

"No," he disagreed, "Out yours!" He raised his hands and winds started gathering around them.

"Uh oh," Serena whispered.

The wind exploded off of his hands in a wall, hitting the line of Scouts before they could move. The wall of wind threw all nine into the back wall of the room and held them there. Serena had still been holding Reenie tightly as the wall of wind hit them and managed to keep her grip as they were thrown into the back wall. She gasped for air as the extra weight on her stomach made it hard for her to breathe.

"I told you," Spessarite said, smiling still, "It wouldn't take more than a minute or two."

The wind held them on there easily. No matter how they struggled, they couldn't get away from the wall behind them. Tuxedo Mask tried to throw a rose, but the wind caught it and sent it arrowing back towards him, just missing his head.

Amy slowly turned her head to look at Raye. "Wind flames fire!" she called intently.

Raye understood and nodded as best she could, then closed her eyes. Taking several deep breaths, she sent herself into a trance state and searched for the fire within her. "MARS POWER!" she cried. Flames whipped over her and Sailor Mars stared down at the flummoxed General. "MARS FIRE IGNITE!" she called.

The wind fanned the flames, making her attack even bigger as it headed towards the General. Panicked, he threw more wind at it, with the same result. The fire raced in and burned his hands, causing him to drop the wall of wind. The Scouts dropped to the floor, more or less intact, even though Serena managed to land on her bottom. She still held Reenie carefully. Raye was once more detransformed.

With the wall down, Tuxedo Mask's roses, and the crystal shards of the twins were doing a lot of damage to the General. Slowly, however, he was pushing them back. Small twisters and little wind walls were holding off the attacks, while blasts of air were hitting the others.

::How did she do that?:: Travis asked telepathically. He had been a little too busy to see the earlier transformations.

::Why are you asking me? You're the one that came up with the idea. You were right, we can transform on our own, though we're back to first generation powers,:: Serena returned absently as she put Reenie down and ordered her away from the fight. Reenie seemed about to debate it for a moment, then nodded and ran towards where the guardians were holed up.

::Can all of you?:: Travis asked as a plan came to him.

::Yes,:: Serena answered, ::But it's hard, and it's not for long.::

::Maybe it will be for long enough,:: Travis answered.

Travis explained his plan and Serena agreed. As Tuxedo Mask and the twins kept Spessarite busy, Serena and Travis explained to the others what they were going to do and everyone spread out.

Travis took a deep breath and felt it echoed in his sister across from him. With her permission, he listened in to her thoughts. *_I believe I can do this. I can do this because I must. I must for my friends, for my family_.* Travis' thoughts echoed hers as he let his thoughts become consumed with keeping the people he loved safe. He didn't even realize he was speaking with her as they both raised their heads and said, "I believe I can!"

"MOON POWER!" Serena called.

"SUN POWER!" Travis said at the same time. When his transformation was complete, Sailor Sol stood there. He looked down at himself. *_Where's my sword?_* he wondered for a second before turning towards Spessarite.

"VENUS POWER!" Mina's voice was loud and confident, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.

"MARS POWER!" Raye's voice was calm, her priestess training shining through.

"JUPITER POWER!" Lita put all her power behind it, determined to transform.

Light flared from all sides of Spessarite as Tuxedo Mask, Crystal and Quartz stepped back into the places that had been left open for them in the circle surrounding the General.

"NOW!" Sailor Moon and Sailor Sol called together. Quickly before they detransformed, they attacked. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" "SOLAR FLARE!" "MARS FIRE IGNITE!" "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" even as they spoke the words, Venus and Jupiter was detransforming, but it was enough. The attacks, crystal shards, and roses all hit at the same time. They came from so many directions at once that Spessarite couldn't use his winds to block them all.

Quartz's crystal shards got through and Spessarite grabbed his arm as they hit. The distraction was just enough time for Jupiter's lightning to help light up his life, and Lita cheered. He had managed to actually deflect Sailor Mars fire, being most worried about it after it burned his hands, but only deflected it to the floor by his feet. Sailor Moon's tiara had been blown out of the way but she managed to stay in control for long enough for it to come back around and pick up some of Sailor Sol's fire. The doubled attack hit Spessarite in the back even as they detransformed.

"YES!" Crystal and Quartz screamed as the monster who had brainwashed their father was turned into dust. "You did it! You did it! Thank you! Thank you!" The Scouts were excited as well. There, in the dust, were their pens.

Without waiting for anyone else to say anything, the two girls ran to Rhyolite. He reached out and hugged them. "I'm so glad you're all right!" he said. "I was so worried about you." He looked over the twins heads and smiled at the Scouts. It was not a nice smile.

"See Father? The Scouts saved us, and Spessarite is dead, and now we can start making the Negaverse good again," Crystal said, smiling up at her father.

"Indeed we can," he said, hugging her again.

Reenie came up to Serena as Amy reached down for her pen. "Mommy, what are we going to do? They won't let us hurt their father. But... but it's not going to be over until he's gone."

"I know, sweetheart, I know," Serena said absently.

"I wouldn't let anyone hurt my father," Reenie whispered. "I'd do everything I could to keep him safe."

"That's what families are for," Tuxedo Mask said, swinging his daughter up into his arms. "To take care of each other, no matter what."

"But will we have to fight them?" Reenie asked in a small voice.

"I hope not, Reenie," Travis was the one to answer, his face despairing as he looked at a happy Crystal.

"Why don't you go see if there was any damage done to the communications room while I see about getting our guests back to Earth, okay?" Rhyolite asked with a smile.

Quartz and Crystal nodded and turned to leave. Crystal then turned around and ran back. She ran up to Travis. "I wish I really was your girlfriend," she whispered, reaching up and brushing a kiss across his cheek. "I'll try to come back to Earth to see you, okay?" Before Travis could answer Rhyolite cleared his throat. Crystal started guiltily and turned to run after her sister.

As soon as they left the room the Scouts turned back to Rhyolite and raised their pens. "Let's get this started, shall we?" Mina asked in a hard voice.

"Let's," Rhyolite agreed with a smile. That smile made the others nervous. He was planning something.

Raye suddenly threw her head up. "There's something here," she said quietly. "It almost feels like... whatever stole our pens last time," she told the others.

"The Lunar Space pickpocket?" Mina asked, receiving a nod from the priestess.

"Oh, great," Lita muttered. "Now what do we do?"

Amy raised her pen into the air. "MERCURY STAR POWER!" she called. As the others watched breathlessly, they remembered the last time they thought they had the pens. Surrounded by bubbles and ice she transformed. Still holding her pen, she tucked it behind the brooch on her front bow. "If you want to keep it away from a pickpocket, don't put it in your pocket," Sailor Mercury said logically.

Rhyolite glowered. With a nod, he called the rest of the youmas forth from the side of the room. From the way they rushed forward, it was obvious that they were hoping to get to the Scouts before they could transform. They were too late.

"MARS STAR POWER!" "VENUS STAR POWER!" "JUPITER STAR POWER!" as the power surged through them, they transformed. By their grins, it was obvious that the girls were enjoying the return of their full power.

"This is more like it," Sailor Jupiter grinned. She moved forward eagerly towards the advancing youma.

With a shout, the Scouts exploded into action. Although they had learned to fight without their powers, they were still infinitely better with them, and they knew it. Knowing how much damage they had managed to cause unpowered, they couldn't wait to take on the youmas as they were.

Sailor Mercury was the first to attack. She, more than any of the others had been forced to hold back, out of the way. Her knowledge was invaluable, but her fighting prowess without her power was too little, even Serena fought better than her in hand to hand combat. She knew it was her job to stand back and analyze, but every once in a while, it felt good to be able to take out her frustrations on handy youmas. "MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!" she yelled, sending forward a devastating wall of ice and snow. She turned to the others with a grin as her attack took out several of the youmas, and partially froze several more.

"Are we going to let her have all the fun?" Venus asked. The answer seemed to be a resounding "NO" as the others attacked as well. "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

The first line of youmas went down easily under the combined attacks of the four girls. Mercury and Venus teamed up, Venus' chain breaking youmas as fast as Mercury froze them. Sailor Mars had found a new appreciation for her spirit wards and almost gleefully fired them out. "MARS FIREBALL CHARGE!" became one of the youmas worst nightmares. Sailor Jupiter was the other, using her electricity and enhanced strength almost indiscriminately against the youmas ranked against her. Tuxedo Mask, Serena and Travis stayed back, protecting Reenie, and allowing the Scouts free rein.

Suddenly a scream sounded from the air around them. Serena jumped up and down in delight. "It worked! It worked!" she yelled. As the others stared at her, she explained, "I decided to be ready if that thieving youma put his hand in my pocket again, so I put a mousetrap in there, and it worked! It got him!"

"What if you'd put your own hand in there?" Mars asked.

Serena looked stunned. "I didn't think about that," she muttered. "But it worked, so it doesn't really matter, does it?" And she stuck her tongue out at Mars before remembering where they were and blushing under the exasperated stares of the others.

"Charming," Rhyolite said snidely. "One of my General's was taken out by an immature brat. I'll enjoy teaching you some manners."

"You're not going to get the chance," Sailor Jupiter said intently. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"

Rhyolite just stood there as the lightning headed toward him. Then he held up his hand. The lightning hit it and was absorbed.

"What?" Jupiter exclaimed in disbelief.

He held up his hand again and lightning could be seen crackling about it. The ball of lightning was then sent towards the Scouts.

Tuxedo Mask pushed Serena and Travis down and covered them as the others dodged out of the way. The ball of lightning hit the back wall and blew a hole in it.

"He can't do that!" Jupiter said in frustration.

"Hate to tell you this, girlfriend," Venus spoke up, "But he just did."

"My turn," Sailor Mars said, readying herself. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

The fire headed towards Rhyolite, but again he held up his hand and absorbed the power. He let the power burn on his hand for a long moment before sending it out again. Again, everyone was able to dodge, although Mercury's skirt got slightly singed.

"Hey, guys, remember that youma that would reflect any energy attacks that we could throw at her?" Travis asked as he moved out of a direct line with Rhyolite. "Maybe he's the same way."

"Then transform into Sailor Sol and use your sword!" Mars called back in exasperation.

"I don't think I can do that," Travis shook his head. "When I transformed before, the sword wasn't with me, maybe it needs the Sun Stone to work. And my Solar Flare wouldn't be any more helpful than anything else."

"Well, if it's physical that's needed, I guess it's up to me to save the day, right?" Sailor Venus asked. "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" she called.

A flash of worry crossed Rhyolite's face to be immediately replaced with confidence as he reached out and grabbed the chain coming towards him. "Even this is energy," he remarked, turning the whip around and grabbing Sailor Venus with it. He turned and flung her into the throne behind him.

"I'm going to go help," Apollo muttered, taking wing from where he'd been waiting with Reenie and the other guardians.

The other four were still watching worriedly when Diana's eyes were caught by something near the throne that had just been knocked over. "What's that?" she wondered absently, barely even noticing that she had started walking towards it.

"What's what?" Luna asked, not taking her eyes off the battle raging in front of her, as the only person who seemed to be able to do any good was fighting.

Tuxedo Mask was in it now, using his cane to try to keep Rhyolite's hands busy as Mercury and Jupiter ganged up against him. "MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" they yelled in concert, only to have Rhyolite absorb the energy as it impacted him. He gathered it together into his hands and grabbed the cane, sending the power through it and into the man in front of him.

"Tuxedo Mask!" Serena yelled, running towards him. "Mercury, look after him," she asked, once she assured himself that he was mostly okay. She glared at Rhyolite and rushed toward him, throwing several punches and kicks at the Emperor.

"Don't forget everything we've learned lately, just because we got our pens back!" Mercury called to the others. They looked up and grinned in understanding.

Rhyolite was soon on the defensive against five determined teenagers and a falcon as Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Travis, Serena, and Apollo attacked with punches, kicks, strikes, and occasionally even throws. Rhyolite started slowly backing up. He managed to deflect many of the blows, but couldn't totally defend himself against all six of his attackers. He was favoring his side, but it had taken four strikes in that section before he started to do so. He also had a talon mark on his head.

He backed up until he reached the throne that was still on its back from where Venus had been thrown into it. He looked down quickly, then reached out and grabbed the sword that was hooked to its side.

With the addition of his sword, the tide of battle turned. Although he still could not defend himself against all six, the sword made him a lot more dangerous and with a longer reach. Venus was the first to go down, with a slash across her midsection. Mercury immediately moved towards her to bandage it up.

Tuxedo Mask got to his feet and entered the fight. He was still slightly shaky, but managed to use his cane to fence against Rhyolite's sword, and keep it busy while the others attacked. Suddenly, Rhyolite

disengaged and spun in a circle, his sword out before him. It missed most of the fighters, but managed to give Jupiter a cut in the arm and Serena a deep gash in the shoulder.

Mercury moved towards the two girls as they moved away from Rhyolite. The others gathered in a circle around the Emperor, just out of reach of his sword.

"I think you should stay out of the fight for a while," Mercury told Serena. "You're not going to be able to use this arm much."

"Then I'll kick," Serena said. "I'm not going to stop fighting now."

"Don't even try it with me," Jupiter spoke up. "I'm going back."

"We've got to think this through," Sailor Mercury said as she finished bandaging Serena and moved to Jupiter. "Physical attacks seem to be the only ones that work, but he's too tough for punches and kicks to take down."

"Which leaves Tuxedo Mask as the only person with a physical attack," Serena said with a sigh, turning and looking at her love who was still fighting.

"What about Sailor Moon's tiara?" Jupiter asked.

"It's mainly energy as well," Mercury explained.

"Besides," Serena said, "I don't have enough power to do much damage with one shot. Not without the Crystal, anyway."

"We'll figure something out," Jupiter said quietly, laying a hand on Serena's uninjured shoulder. Then she turned and walked back to the circle around Rhyolite. Venus had already gotten back on her feet and joined up.

"Maybe I should..." Sailor Mercury started.

"No," Serena shook her head, "You're needed out here, to take care of the wounded and watch over my daughter. You're a lot more useful than anyone else you know."

Before Mercury could respond they were interrupted by Artemis' panicked yell. "Diana!"

Diana had noticed something when the Emperor's throne had been tipped over. Without thinking about it, she started stalking towards it, taking care to avoid the fight so she wouldn't be trampled. Her parents and Reenie were worriedly watching the fight and never noticed when she left. At her father's yell, she turned around, to see a very large rat standing in back of her. She squeaked in fright and cowered down. The rat was almost twice the size of the kitten.

Luna, Artemis, and Reenie raced towards the frightened kitten. Artemis and Luna soon outdistanced the little girl. With growls of rage, the two older cats attacked the surprised rat. Their claws and teeth made short work of the offender.

"Are you all right?" Luna asked worriedly, nosing Diana over carefully.

"I'm fine, Mama," Diana mewed softly.

"Well, then, what were you doing all the way over here?" Luna's voice was almost a shout as she let her worry out.

"I saw something over there I wanted to look at, but you were busy," Diana said quietly. "I was being careful, and keeping out of the human's way."

"It looks like it wasn't the humans you had to worry about," Artemis said. "You scared ten years off my life, little cat. If my fur wasn't already white, it would have been after this!"

"You were worried?" Diana asked, enjoying the tongue bath her mother was giving her to help comfort them both.

"Of course I was worried!" Artemis said in surprise. "You're my daughter and I love you!"

Diana put her head down. "You've never said that before," she said softly.

"I... I..." Artemis stammered. Then he calmed down. "Maybe I've never said it," he said quietly, going over and taking over the bath, "but I've always meant it. I love you, kitten, don't you ever forget it."

Diana purred contentedly. "I love you too, Papa."

"What were you looking at, Diana?" Reenie asked. "I can't see anything that would cause you to come over here."

Diana suddenly remembered why she was here. She turned and nuzzled her father on the jaw before heading back in the direction she had been going. This time, she didn't bother to be careful, trusting her parents to take care of her.

She ran up to the tipped over throne and stared into a small hole in the bottom. Carefully, she reached her paw in. Several times she tried while the others watched intently. Finally, she drew it out and batted out a fairly large, yellow topaz.

"The Sun Stone," the others breathed in disbelief.

"I saw it glinting in there when the throne tipped," Diana explained. "I just wondered what it might be." She looked around, Travis was fighting with Rhyolite on the other side of the fight. "Uncle Apollo!"

she called.

The falcon had seen the group gathered on the opposite side of the room from where they should be and flown towards them to see what was up. That was the only reason he was able to hear the kitten's call. "`Uncle' Apollo?" the falcon asked humorously. "Since when?"

Diana's head and tail drooped. "I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't thinking."

"Oh, it's all right, kitten," the falcon said quickly. "I don't mind at all. It just surprised me. Now," he continued as Diana perked up. "Why did you call..." his voice trailed off as his sharp eyes caught the glint of light off of the Sun Stone. "How?" he breathed.

"I found it," Diana said proudly. "In the chair, it had fallen through the crack I think."

"Diana, you are the greatest," Apollo exclaimed, running his beak through the fur on top of her head before grabbing the stone in his talons and throwing himself into the air. He arrowed towards Travis and hovered over him. When Travis looked up, Apollo dropped the stone.

In disbelief, unthinkingly, Travis held up his hand. The Stone landed there and he stared at it. Rhyolite noticed what he held and started to get worried. He sprang forward, heading for Travis, determined to get the Sun Stone back, or at least out of his hands. The others ran forward, blocking him off.

"So you've got one of your toys back," Rhyolite sneered. "Do you really think one more Scout is going to help?"

Travis ignored him. "Serena!" he yelled.

Serena ran forward even as he pulled a necklace from around his neck. With bated breath, he placed the too large stone onto the pommel of the miniature sword. It shrank drastically, until the pommel stone was in perfect proportion to the sword. Serena and Travis gazed at each other in disbelief until they noticed Rhyolite's attempts to get to them. Travis raised the sword over his head, and Serena reached up to touch it. She hissed in pain, and quickly lowered her arm, having forgotten her injury for a moment. She raised her other hand and touched the sword. "SUN STONE POWER DUO!" they yelled together.

Everyone except for Rhyolite quickly closed their eyes and missed the bright lights as they transformed. When they opened their eyes again, Sailor Sol and Sailor Sun stood side by side, the Sun Sword prominent on Sailor Sol's hip.

Rhyolite was shaking his head, trying to get his eyes working again, and was sure he hadn't managed it when he saw a Scout he had never seen before. Only the bandage on her shoulder showed him that it was still the girl who had transformed into Sailor Moon earlier.

Sailor Sol pulled his sword as the other girls pulled back towards Sailor Sun. "Sure you're up to this, Sailor Sun?" he called out.

"I'm fine," she grinned back. "Let's do it!"

Sailor Sol's sword was almost a blur as he attacked Rhyolite. For several minutes he held his own, sword to sword, until the Emperor's years of training showed above his own three months or so. It was then that the others attacked. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" "MERCURY ICE STORM SPLASH!" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"

It was all Rhyolite could do to absorb the power coming in to him while still keeping both Sailor Sol and Tuxedo Mask off of him. He gathered the power and threw it back out at the two young men. They ducked, and the power headed straight at the Scouts. Sailor Sun, however, was ready. With teeth gritted against the pain, she raised her arms to the sides. "SOLAR CORONA WALL!" she called, a wall of fire exploding from her in both directions and destroying the attack before it could get to the other girls.

Crystal and Quartz reentered the room and looked around in shock. "What is going on here?" Quartz asked in disbelief.

Crystal had eyes only for the fight between Rhyolite and Sailor Sol. "Why are they fighting, Quartz?" she asked in a dazed voice.

"You know we have to help Father," Quartz said softly.

"Against Travis?" Crystal said in a small voice.

Quartz nodded slowly. "Even against Travis."

"I don't know if I can," Crystal admitted. "But I guess I don't have a choice." She sighed. "I really like Travis a lot, Quartz, I could easily fall in love with him."

"I know, Sister," Quartz agreed, "I know."

Reluctantly, the two girls headed into the fray.

Reenie was the first to notice them. "Sailor Sun!" she cried. "Behind you!"

Sailor Sun turned around quickly and noticed the two girls heading towards them with determination in their eyes. She stepped forward. "I can't let you do that," she said quietly.

"We're going to help our father," Quartz said strongly.

"No, you're not," Sailor Sun disagreed. She turned to the others. "Don't attack, or if you do, get behind the wall immediately." Before they could ask what she had planned she turned back to the twins. Almost crying with pain, she raised her arms above her head and clasped them. "SOLAR CORONA WALL!" she cried, the wall forming around the three girls. The wall of fire withstood every attack Crystal and Quartz could throw at it, atomizing their crystal shards when they hit. They turned to the girl in there with them.

"Who are you?" Crystal asked.

"I'm Sailor Sun," she answered through gritted teeth. "I'm Sailor Sol's twin sister."

"Serena?" Quartz asked in disbelief.

She nodded shortly.

"We've got to help our father," Quartz said slowly.

"Then you'll have to get through me to do it," Sailor Sun said. Her face was a mask of pain and tears were seeping down her face, but she stood defiant in front of them. As Crystal watched, blood soaked through the bandage around her shoulder wound and started heading down her side. Still, Sailor Sun held her position. "Rhyolite's not your father!" she said desperately. "Remember! Please, remember before. Remember your real parents, your real life, not this artificial one that he stuffed your head with."

"Don't talk about our father like that!" Quartz said, suddenly shooting her crystal shards at the Scout.

Sailor Sun cried out at the new pain. She was swaying as pain and blood loss made her dizzy. As the twins watched, she sank to her knees, but still she held the wall. "I won't let you out," she whispered. "I won't let you do something you'll regret with all your being, and I won't make Travis do something that will hurt him like that either. I won't let you out until you remember, or Rhyolite is dead! I won't!"

By now tears were running full fledged down her face and she was swaying dangerously. But still her hands stayed clasped above her head, and still the wall stayed up.

"I didn't realize the Scouts were so evil," Crystal said slowly.

"They're not," Quartz said in confusion. "You know that."

"Then why are they fighting so hard, Quartz?" Crystal asked. "Why are they fighting so hard against Father, he's not evil either."

"I... I don't know, but..." Quartz trailed off.

Crystal was focused on Sailor Sun. She suddenly moved forward as Sailor Sun almost fell to the floor in a faint. Although she tried to hold it, the wall went down. Instead of leaving, Crystal gently gathered Sailor Sun up. "We're the ones that are evil, aren't we?" she said softly, almost to herself. "We're the ones that steal energy, that send down youmas, that steal pens."

"We did it for the good of the realm," Quartz reminded her.

"Is `that' for the good of the realm?" Crystal's voice had such a bite to it that it even shocked Sailor Sun awake. Quartz and Sailor Sun looked at where Crystal was staring.

"NO!" Sailor Sun shouted, surging forward. "Reenie!"

Rhyolite had been forced backwards again. Looking back he had seen the girl and cats sitting there out of the way. With an unexpected move, he disengaged, ran back, and picked up the little girl. He was now holding her with his sword against her neck.

"Detransform!" he ordered. "Detransform and put down your pens, all of you, or this little girl dies."

Diana tried to save her mistress. She threw herself at Rhyolite's legs, biting and scratching. He kicked out at her and sent her tumbling into a nearby wall.

Slowly, the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask detransformed.

"Let her go, Rhyolite," Travis said in a steady voice.

Serena had detransformed but was still in Crystal's arms. "No, no, no," she was chanting under her breath. "Please, let Reenie be all right, please, please, please."

Quartz and Crystal exchanged a long, long look. Then Crystal slowly disengaged herself from Serena and stood up. The two girls were the only things moving as they walked towards their father. Serena caught her breath in hope, a hope that was dashed as they just bowed to him and took their places on either side of him.

"Very good, girls," Rhyolite purred. "I'm glad to see you're so loyal. Crystal, why don't you go pick up the pens, while Quartz gets the Sun Stone back."

"Yes, Father," they said together. They started to move forward when Crystal moved. In a flash of movement, she grabbed her father's hand and twisted it, causing him to drop the sword before it could do any damage to the child in his arms. In a continuation of the same move, Quartz grabbed Reenie, and moved away.

"You dare?" he yelled.

"You're not Rhyolite," Crystal shrugged. "Our father wouldn't do such a thing. Why don't you just drop the illusion? Let us see who you really are. Or are you afraid?"

"I always thought that Spessarite didn't have the brains for a plan like that," Quartz added, holding Reenie gently. "So who are you? And why are you pretending to be our father?"

Amy shook her head even as she gathered up her pen. "His own brainwashing worked against him," she muttered. "They can't believe their father would do something like this, so obviously he is not their father. It's the only way they can keep the two ideas consistent."

Quartz put Reenie down and the two girls attacked. With his sword gone, the two girls were having an effect. Their crystal shard attack was physical, not energy, and it was doing damage.

Travis moved toward Serena, Darien had gone to protect Reenie once Quartz had set her down. "Serena," Travis said, wincing as he noticed how much damage his sister had sustained. "We're the only ones that can finish this, you know that, right?"

Serena nodded her head wearily. "I can do it," she answered. She stood up shakily and held up her uninjured arm to the sword pendant he was holding up. "SUN STONE POWER DUO!" they cried. The twins moved forwards towards the other set of twins. With the Scouts help, they had Rhyolite down, and kept ordering him to drop the illusion, not believing him when he said there wasn't one. Sailor Sun sank to her knees in front of him as the others moved off.

"Oh? Are you surrendering?" he asked in a tired voice.

"No," she answered simply, in a voice that miraculously did not waver at all. She held her arms up above her head, refusing to wince at the biting pain. "SUPER!" she cried. Yellow flames gathered on her palms.

"NOVA!" Sailor Sol yelled as well, flames dancing on his hands as he stood behind his sister.

Their palms came together, flame to flame. They stared at Rhyolite for a long moment as their hands seemed to combust. "ANNIHILATION!" they called out together, power flowing from them in seemingly unending waves of flame and light.

For a minute, it looked as though it wouldn't be enough. Rhyolite was catching it. He was absorbing everything they were sending at him. Then the others moved.

"MERCURY ICE STORM SPLASH!" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" The four attacks, Tuxedo Mask's roses, and the twin's crystal shards impacted the Emperor. As the physical attacks broke his concentration, the full fury of a solar nova, wrapped around with fire, ice, electricity and light impacted him. When the light died, he was nothing but dust.

Serena collapsed. On top of everything else, that last blast had taken more from her than she had to give. She lost her transformation and collapsed into unconsciousness. Travis as well, lost his transformation, but he was in better shape, and managed to stay awake.

Reenie ran to her mother. "Is it over? Did we do it? Are you okay?" she asked even as she reassured herself that Serena wasn't seriously hurt.

"I don't know, and I'm fine." Serena answered softly, looking at the others to see if they could answer. It was obvious that they couldn't. She sat up slowly and drew Reenie into a hug. Tuxedo Mask detransformed and added himself into the hug.

"Something should be happening," Diana said, almost in a whisper. "We won, there should be fireworks or something."

The others laughed at that. "It seems like it, doesn't it?" Travis asked with a tired grin.

"I would be dancing with joy," Serena agreed. "If I had the energy to get up that is."

A soft sobbing reached Luna's ears. "What's that?" she asked, turning to look for the source of the crying.

"Crystal," Travis whispered as he noticed where it was coming from.

Crystal and Quartz were curled up on the ground, holding each other as if they were the only solid things in the world. For them, they were. With the death of Rhyolite, his brainwashing was broken, and the two girls were faced with the memory of their true life and the life they had been living for the past year.

Travis moved forward and stood looking down at them, unsure of what to do. He threw an anguished look back over his shoulder at his sister.

"They do remember," Amy said quietly. "I had hoped they would not. It would have been so much easier and safer."

"Why?" Mina asked.

"Did you forget?" Luna spoke up. "They know who you are. That makes them dangerous, and it makes it dangerous for them."

Serena looked up with wide eyes. "That reminds me," she said urgently. "Where's `the' Crystal?"

"The..." the others started, looking around frantically.

"'O 'ou 'ean 'is?" Artemis said. The slurred speech was a byproduct of the brooch he held in his mouth.

"My brooch!" Serena cried, reaching for it. She held it lovingly as she opened it to see the Moon Crystal shining softly inside. "Thank you, Artemis! Thank you, thank you!" He blushed brightly as she kissed him on top of his head.

"It was nothing," he said in embarrassment. "It was lying in almost plain sight among Rhyolite's ashes."

"And where's mine?" Darien asked with a smile.

"Mama will find it!" Diana said with complete confidence. "I found one, Papa found one, so Mama will find the other, right?"

Everyone turned with lifted eyebrows to the disconcerted cat. She was about to say she didn't have a clue, but a look in her kitten's eyes made her change her mind and head out without a word, to look.

Crystal flinched as Travis came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Travis looked sad as he crouched down beside her and Quartz.

"What's the matter?" he asked gently.

"How can you ask that?" Crystal said, almost hysterically. "We've done awful things!"

"You were brainwashed," he reminded them.

"So?" Quartz asked bitterly. "You think that excuses us?"

"Yes," Travis said simply. There was no hesitation or doubt in his voice.

"It's not that easy!" Crystal shouted, getting the attention of the others in the room. "You don't understand! You `can't' understand!"

"I do," another voice spoke up quietly. The three had been so caught up with each other that they hadn't noticed the others gathering around them. Darien looked down at them with a pained expression on his face.

"I spent two months brainwashed by Queen Beryl, fighting against Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts. In the end, I almost killed Serena. If she hadn't been able to bring back my memories, I `would' have killed her. The most important person in my life, and I hurt her. Believe me, I `do' understand."

"It wasn't your fault," Serena said, taking his hand. She turned to the girls. "And it's not yours either. Don't accept the guilt for something you have no control over."

"We should have been able to do `something'!" Quartz retorted, unwilling to be reassured.

"I thought that, too, when it happened to me" Reenie said, sitting down and taking the twin's hands before they could pull back. "After all, I'm Sailor Crescent Moon, I should be strong enough not to be brainwashed. But I couldn't stop it either. You're human, no matter what's been done to you and you would have had to be even more superhuman than Tuxedo Mask to fight off a brainwashing."

"Are we?" Quartz looked up. "Are we even human anymore? I mean, I can throw out shards of crystal, I don't think that's something that a normal `human' being could do." Crystal nodded her head in agreement.

"Only one way to find out," Mina said with a grin. "Amy?"

Amy nodded and quickly transformed back into Sailor Mercury. Crystal and Quartz watched with awe as the transformation took place. Mercury lowered her visor and looked at the two girls. "I see trace amounts of dark energy, but they are completely human," she said in a tone of voice that brooked no arguments.

"We can take care of the dark energy right now," Serena said with a smile, jumping up and pulling out her brooch. She seemed to have gotten her energy back and was bubbling with it though still being careful of her injuries.

"What are you going to do?" Quartz asked worriedly as the others moved out of the way, Reenie giving the two girls a squeeze on the hands while Travis patted Crystal on the shoulder.

"I'm going to heal you," Serena said transforming into Sailor Moon. "The Moon Crystal can take all of the dark energy from you."

"Are you going to take our memories of who you are from us as well?" Crystal asked.

Sailor Moon blinked. "Can I do that?" she asked Luna who was still searching for the Earth Gem, and not having any luck.

Luna thought for a long moment. "Theoretically, yes," she finally answered. "If you wish for it hard enough when you're using the Crystal to heal them, yes, you can."

"Should I?" she asked next. She looked to her Scouts for an answer, but it came from a different direction.

"Yes, you should," Quartz answered calmly. "If anyone from the Negaverse comes after us and takes us again, it would be too risky for us to know who you are."

Crystal nodded slowly, with a sad look in her eye. "I agree," she said. "You've managed to kill all of the youmas that knew about you, it's better that we don't know either."

Travis seemed about to contradict them, but held his peace. Sailor Moon saw though. "You don't agree, Travis?" she asked.

Travis shrugged. "I can understand why they think that way, and it's really their decision. But... even after all that's happened, I trust Crystal. And after all, the Four Sisters know about us, and they didn't even start out human. I don't think it's necessary, but it's not my choice."

Crystal's eyes had gone misty as he said he trusted her. Looking into his eyes, she saw sincerity shining through. With a low cry she threw herself into his arms and sobbed. He held her gently, letting her cry herself out. Quartz looked on with quiet envy.

"Don't worry," Mina said, going over to stand on one side of her. "You'll get a boyfriend sooner or later."

"Yeah," Lita agreed with a grin, "and if you don't, you'll just have to go boy trolling with us one day."

Quartz blinked and then smiled at them. "I'd like that," she said softly.

"I can't believe you still trust me," Crystal whispered into Travis' chest. "I betrayed you!"

"I told you it wasn't your fault," Travis said, rubbing her back soothingly. "And you broke through that other brainwashing all by yourself, just because you were afraid I was going to get hurt. You saved Reenie, even though it meant fighting your father. I do trust you, and I've trusted very few people in my life."

"I don't deserve it," she whispered.

"I think you do," he whispered back. "And I think in this case, you should trust my judgment of the matter."

She grinned slightly at that. "I do trust your judgement," she told him softly, "but I still don't think we should keep our memories. It's too dangerous, and..." she broke off.

Quartz continued for her. "I don't know if I really want to remember right now," she said quietly, obviously speaking for her sister as well. "The things we've done, the things we've seen and the things we know... I'd like to forget, if I can." She ended up whispering.

Crystal's look was scared as she raised her eyes to Travis'. "I don't want to forget you," she said, "but..."

"I found it!" Luna finally yelled in relief breaking the tension. Diana rushed over to congratulate her mother as she took the newly discovered Earth Gem back to Darien. Luna exchanged a look with Sailor Mercury as she unobtrusively put away her computer and retracted her visor. Luna winked back.

"I understand," Travis whispered, kissing her gently. "And if it's truly what you want, we'll do it that way." Serena nodded to him to show she agreed.

"But if you happened to show up around the house, or we met somewhere..." Crystal hinted with a grin. Travis grinned back.

"Guys," Serena finally said as Darien replaced the Earth Gem in its setting, "I don't know about you, but I want to go home!"

"Yeah!" Everyone answered at once.

"Umm..." Quartz started.

"I don't want to do it here," Serena told her. "Once we get out of the Negaverse, I'll use the Crystal, okay?"

Quartz and Crystal nodded, then watched in awe as Serena and Reenie duod and Travis transformed.

"You know, we don't know your names," Crescent Moon said after everyone had transformed. Crystal and Quartz had warned them that there might be more youma around so they decided to be prepared.

Crystal and Quartz looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're not really named Crystal and Quartz are you?" she asked, surprised.

"Not exactly," Quartz grinned. "But close, at least on my part."

"I `am' Crystal," Crystal said with a smile. "Crystal Ann Reynolds."

"And I," said Quartz, "Am Rose Marie Reynolds. However, father thought our names should be more alike, considering he couldn't tell us apart for the longest time, and started calling me Rose Quartz. Eventually, it became just Quartz. I never minded, it was different, even if people do look at you funny when you introduce yourself as Quartz."

The others laughed lightly at that. "So," Tuxedo Mask asked, stepping in front of Sailor Moon as they left the cavern of the fight. "Do you think that they chose you to kidnap because they didn't want to have to brainwash someone into thinking they had a different name?"

"Oh, that's a comforting thought," Crystal said sarcastically from her spot behind Sailor Sol.

"Well," Sailor Mars said comfortingly. "I'm glad they chose people with such a good code of honor. I don't think we could have won if it wasn't for you."

"Thank our parents," Quartz said smiling muzzily. "You know, it just hit me, we're going to see them again for the first time in a year. What are we going to tell them? How are we going to explain it? How are we going to keep from hugging them to death?"

"Home," Crystal whispered. Sailor Sol stepped back so he could put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"Well, I guess you'll be telling them the truth, you don't remember what happened during the last year," he said sadly. "Which reminds me," he said to his sister. "Considering the way we left, what are we going to tell 'our' parents?"

Sailor Moon stopped dead. "Um..."

By now they had reached the portal chamber. Crystal and Quartz moved towards different panels and started to input information.

"Okay, I've got a self-destruct on this room set for five minutes," Quartz announced.

"And I've got the portal set for our entrance site," Crystal said. "Let's go."

Without hesitation, the thirteen tired heroes stepped through the portal and onto their own world once more.

"I wonder if we changed it back?" Crescent Moon asked worriedly once they were on solid ground.

The twins looked at Crescent Moon. "Changed what back?" Crystal asked.

"The future," she said. "I came back in time to change the future back to the way it's supposed to be. Did we?"

"Small Lady," a voice said from behind them. "What have I said about telling the future?"

The Sailor Scouts gasped as they recognized the voice. Whirling around, they confronted another Sailor Scout, with long green hair and a large key.

"Puu!" Crescent Moon yelled, running forward. "Does that mean we did it?"

"Yes, Small Lady, that's exactly what it means," Sailor Pluto answered, hugging the child tightly.

Sailor Sol whooped and swung Crystal around in a circle before setting her down and kissing her with all his might. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were wrapped in an embrace of their own. Sailor Venus was hugging Artemis so tight he was turning green from lack of oxygen, and the others were showing equal signs of celebration.


	17. Chapter 16: The End

Last Chapter! Hope you enjoyed! I know a couple of you have asked about a sequel, remembering comments I made so very long ago. At one point I had considered writing a sequel. Even after all this time, I still have a scene in my head of my guys meeting the Outers. However, I know it's something that will never be written. I've moved on too far from Sailor Moon. I'm glad you enjoyed this blast from the past.

Sailor Moon Universal B

Epilogue: Returns

"Diana, what's wrong?" Luna asked softly. She walked over to where the kitten was sitting, shaking her head.

"Nothing really," Diana mewed, "It's just my head seems all messed up, and sometimes I remember living with little Serena, and sometimes that's like a dream and I remember growing up in Crystal Tokyo." She looked up shyly, "I liked that one a lot better," she said in a soft purr. "I loved growing up with you and Papa."

"Don't worry," said Pluto, coming over to them and bending down in front of the little cat. "Your memories will sort themselves out very soon, and the time in the alternate future will seem like nothing more than a bad dream."

"Doesn't that create a paradox?" Sailor Mercury asked, coming over to the small gathering. "If the future hadn't been changed, than Reenie would never have come back to change it."

"Since she did change it," Luna continued, "she wouldn't have come back."

"Not so," Pluto answered. "She was needed in this time to help fight, so she would have come back. You should find your own memories changing soon, so that she just came back because she was needed to fight, and there would be no talk of the alternate future." She turned to Serena who had walked up to her. "You might want to buy a doll from Mika, that you can give to her in the future."

Sailor Moon nodded, not quite understanding, but knowing that she would when it became necessary. Her mind was taken up by another question. "Where were you?" she asked, trying hard not to be accusing.

"We need to get Crystal and Quartz taken care of," Pluto said, ignoring the question. "And it's about time for Reenie to go home." She started to walk off.

"Pluto!" and this time Sailor Moon's voice had a bite to it. "Where were you?"

"I'll tell you as we walk," Pluto promised. Sailor Moon nodded as she picked up Luna and turned to walk after her. The others gathered around as well.

"Well?" Sailor Moon asked after they had walked silently for several yards. "Where were you?" she asked for the third time.

Pluto looked ahead, not moving her eyes from the road in front of her. "In the future, there will be another enemy," she said almost grudgingly. "Without the Sailor Scouts, I must fight alone. I win, but only by a move which is forbidden, and costs my life. Not even 'I' am truly immortal," she finished hollowly.

Crescent Moon hugged her, causing her to jump as she was too caught up in the memories of a life that now wasn't to realize the little girl was there.

"I'm glad it's not going to happen that way Puu," Crescent Moon said, still hugging her. "I was so scared when I saw you weren't at the Gate of Time. I knew that something awful must have happened to you."

Sailor Pluto hugged the smallest Scout gently back. "I'm just glad you are all right," she said softly.

"I would guess that if we were to ask you about this new threat you wouldn't tell us anything, would you?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"It is the future," Pluto reprimended, "And I can not tell you of the future, there is too much chance of it changing if I do, and you already know much that you should not."

"I think we've 'all' learned a lesson about the future being changeable," Tuxedo Mask said slowly, looking down at his future wife and daughter.

"Well then, how about telling us about the alternate future?" Sailor Sol asked to change the subject. He

was walking to the side with Crystal, trying to get a last few moments with her before she lost all memory of him. "Like, what happened with the Negaverse?"

Pluto speared him with a glance. "There is no need for you to know," she said severely. *_No_,* she thought, *_there is no need for you to know that the brainwashing worked in that alternate future. That you became one of the Negaverse's leading generals. Though you never tried to hurt your sister, you were in charge of the takeover of Tokyo._* Looking at his open face, she thought again, _*It's far better that you don't know.*_

Tuxedo Mask seemed about to say something when Quartz's voice interrupted them. "Here it is!" she called back. "This is our street! Our house is just a couple of blocks away!"

"There, there's our house!" Crystal said quietly, almost as if she didn't believe what she was saying.

She grasped Sailor Sol's hand tighter. "That's where we live. That's where we 'lived'. What if they've moved? What if they've left? What if they've given up on us? What... what if they don't want us anymore?" Her voice broke. Sailor Sol squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Jupiter said quietly. She pointed to a tree in the front yard. On the tree was a flyer, with a picture of the twins on it. They were too far away to read the writing, but it was obviously a flyer asking for information on the wherabouts of the girls.

Crescent Moon agreed. "You're family," she told the two girls. "And nothing's more important than family. They wouldn't forget about you, they love you."

"Look," Quartz whispered. "Look! It's Dad! It's our Dad!" Her voice rose as she stared at a man that had just stepped out of the front door. She started to run towards him.

"Hold on," Sailor Mars said gently, grasping her arm.

"But...!" Quartz started to protest, trying to pull free.

"It's all right," Sailor Moon tried to reassure her. "You can go to him in just a moment, but let's get you healed first, okay?" They gently pulled the two girls behind a nearby hedge. Crystal let out a little cry of disappointment as the bushes cut off her sight of the man she had not seen in over a year.

"Shh," Sailor Sol whispered. "It's just a couple more minutes, and then you can see him, okay?"

Crystal hugged Sailor Sol tightly and kissed him quickly. "I know I'm going to forget you," she said softly, "but don't forget me, okay?"

"Never," he smiled, moving her next to her sister and backing off. "And you'll see me again, I promise."

Quartz was bouncing up on her toes, trying to see over the hedge into her yard. "Let's do this," she said impatiently. "I want to see my parents!"

Sailor Moon smiled and pulled off her brooch. "MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!" she cried, sending waves of healing light at the two girls.

When it faded, they looked around in confusion. "Wha? Where? Who are you? What's happened to us?" Their memories of the past year had vanished, leaving only vague impressions of being kidnapped and thinking someone else was their parents.

"It doesn't matter," Tuxedo Mask told them. "What does matter is that your parents have been looking for you for a long time. Don't you think you should go and reassure them that you're alive and okay?"

"Our parents?" Crystal looked around. "This... this is the Minamino house, isn't it? That means that our house is... right across the street."

Quartz started towards the street. She turned back. "I don't know who you are, but I have the feeling I should thank you," she said.

Crystal followed her. "Yes, thank you," she said. She sent one last inquiring glance at one of the two boys in the group before turning and running after her sister.

"DAD!" they screamed as they saw him out in the yard.

The Scouts watched from across the street as he looked up and saw the two girls running towards him. His face was a mixture of disbelief and hope as he saw them. He stood there in shock as they ran up to him, but got himself under control as they threw themselves at him. He gathered them into a hug before pulling back and staring into their eyes.

Sailor Moon hugged her brother as Tuxedo Mask swept Crescent Moon up into his arms. Most of the girls were sniffling as the man pulled the twins back into a hug and yelled out, "Rosalynn! Rosalynn! Come here! Quickly! They're home! Our little girls have come home!"

Sailor Moon reached up to brush away a tear as a woman a couple of years older then her own mother, and with hair just a few shades darker than the twins pale blond, came running out the door and into the embrace of her long lost daughters.

Sailor Pluto watched quietly as the Scouts turned away from the touching scene. "Small Lady needs to go home and be reunited with her parents too," she reminded them, almost gently.

"Not yet!" Crescent Moon cried. "Please, Puu, not yet! I want to see Grandma and Grandpa again."

Pluto nodded once. "The gate will open in three hours, in the park. I expect you to be there." Her words went to Reenie, but it was at Sailor Moon that she looked. Not for agreement, but more as in one expecting a response to an order she had given.

Sailor Moon nodded her agreement and turned to the others. "You heard her," she said quietly. "If you

want to see Reenie off, you need to be at the park in three hours. Right now," she took a deep breath, "Me and Travis need to go be reunited with 'our' parents."

"Are you going to tell them?" Mercury asked. "Or use the Crystal to erase their memories?"

"I don't know yet," Sailor Moon answered. She turned to look at Pluto but her face was a mask, giving nothing away. "I guess I'll decide when we get there," she finally continued.

The group broke up, Sailor Moon, Sailor Sol, Crescent Moon, Tuxedo Mask and the guardians headed towards the Tsukino house.

Tuxedo Mask put Crescent Moon down as they reached the house and they all detransformed. "Good luck," he whispered to Serena, drawing her into a hug. "If you need me, I'll be right here," he said, placing a hand on Travis' shoulder.

They smiled their thanks and then the three turned to go inside.

"Mom? Dad?" Serena called out as she stepped through the door.

"Uncle Jake?" Travis called at the same time.

There was an exclamation from the living room and a loud noise, like something falling over. Travis and Serena exchanged a quick glance before running in to find out what it was. They rushed into the room and ran straight into Jake and Ken's arms.

"What was that loud noise?" Travis asked as he gave his Uncle Ken a hug and then slipped out of his arms to go to his guardian. Serena eagerly took his place in her father's arms.

"Where's Mom?" she asked, looking around after a moment. She saw her mother across the room and ran to the motionless woman. "Mom?" she asked, as she threw her arms around her. "Is something wrong?"

Ellen gave a slight sob as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I was so worried," she whispered.

"I know," Serena said softly, "I'm so sorry."

"Are you okay?" her mother asked, looking her over for any signs of an injury. "That's the most important thing."

"I'm fine, but the most important thing is if you're all right," Serena disagreed. "Are you?"

"We're fine," Ellen answered. "A little bruised, but nothing major."

"I'm so glad," Serena said in relief.

As his wife was wrapped up with their daughter, Ken turned to the other person who had come into the house. She was staring around with an almost lost look in her eyes. Without knowing quite why he did, Ken swept her up in his arms. "Are you okay, Reenie?" he asked gently. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Reenie shook her head and sighed happily as she was wrapped in her grandfather's arms. "Uh uh," she muttered. "I'm fine."

Serena looked seriously up at her mother. "I can erase everyone's memories of what happened," she said quietly. "Change them so that we were just gone for a slumber party or something."

Jake chose that moment to speak up. "Do you know why they took you? I mean, why would monsters set up this elaborate trap to get 'you'? Was it... was it because of my story?"

"No!" Travis denied vehemently. "It had nothing to do with you!"

Serena continued to stare at her mother while sending a tendril of thought to her brother. ::I'd like to tell him,:: he told her while still trying to reassure his guardian. ::I'd already planned to, and I don't think he'd tell.::

At the same time, her mother smiled mistily down at her. "I think your father would be as proud of you as I am, but it's your decision. I promised myself I wouldn't interfere when it came to your Sailor activities."

Serena nodded slowly, answering both her mother and brother at the same time. She took a deep breath and turned around in her mother's arms to look at the rest of the room. "They kidnapped us because they wanted Sailor Moon and Sailor Sol," she said bluntly.

"So, they thought they would come to save you?" Jake asked, perplexed.

"Not quite," Travis laughed.

"They thought we 'were' them," Serena explained.

Ken looked shocked. "How could they possibly think that?" he asked. "I mean, I know your hairstyle is the same, but you're just Serena... I mean, you're not exactly a superhero. To be a little blunt, you're not exactly superhero material."

"Gee, thanks a lot, Dad!" Serena smiled, but couldn't help the little flash of hurt that went through her at her father's words.

Ken came over to her quickly. "I'm sorry sweetheart," he said softly, wrapping his family in his arms. "I didn't mean anything by that, I know you've grown up a lot in the last couple of months, but before that you really were extremely... um..." he tried to think of a word that would describe her without insulting her. Others decided to do it for him.

"Airheaded," Reenie put in helpfully.

"And clumsy," Travis added.

"And a cry baby," Reenie continued.

"And whiny," Travis was grinning as he and Reenie traded comments back and forth. Serena was glaring at them both.

"And," Reenie started.

"I think that's quite enough!" Serena muttered, still glaring. "We get the picture!"

"Well it's true," Travis shrugged with a grin.

"To be quite frank dear," Ken told his daughter gently, "It 'is' true. So why would they think that you were Sailor Moon?"

"Because I am," Serena answered simply, turning to look him directly in the eye.

Travis turned to his guardian. "And I am Sailor Sol," he said softly. "It was the secret I almost blurted out the other day."

Ken and Jake blinked. "Are you saying..." Ken started, then he shook his head. "That's ridiculous," he said with finality.

"Dad," Serena said firmly. "I 'am' Sailor Moon." He still looked disbelieving. "Well then I'll prove it to you!" she said, getting impatient with his disbelief.

Serena and Travis moved away from their families toward the middle of the room. They looked at each other and Travis grinned reassuringly as he pulled out his necklace. Serena took a deep breath and nodded. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" "SUN STONE POWER!" they cried at the same time. As Ken and Jake looked on in disbelief, and Ellen in wonder, they transformed.

Sailor Moon turned to look at her father. He was staring at her with a white faced look of shock. Sailor Moon's face fell as he didn't move or speak. "Dad?" she said in a small voice. He continued to stare.

Jake didn't seem to be having the same problem. He hugged Sailor Sol tightly then started shaking him while bombarding him with questions. "How did this happen? How long have you been a Sailor Scout? Have you been hurt? And for goodness sake, why didn't you tell me?"

Sailor Sol grinned, shook his head and tried to get a word in edgewise.

With a thought, Sailor Moon detransformed. "Dad?" she said again. When he didn't answer she stomped her foot. "Dad!" she cried. "Say something! Yell at me or something! Just don't stand there looking as if you don't know who I am anymore!" She burst into tears and ran out of the room.

That snapped Ken out of his immobility and he moved after her. Reenie had already started to follow her when he stopped her. "I need to speak to my daughter alone," he told her.

Reenie glared at him. "Just don't make her cry again," she ordered, turning back into the living room.

Ken reached Serena's room to find her lying face down on the bed crying. As he entered he heard her talking to herself. "I knew it was a bad idea," she muttered. "I knew I shouldn't have told him, now he doesn't want me anymore, and it's all my fault."

"Shh," Ken whispered as he settled down onto the bed next to her. He gently rubbed her back, trying to

sooth her. "Of course I want you," he told her quietly. "You're my daughter, and I love you, and nothing will ever change that."

"Then why did you look at me like that?" Serena asked, not turning to look at him. She had tensed up as soon as he sat down and didn't seem to be calming down any.

"Because I was shocked," he answered softly. "You had to expect that. I thought I knew everything important about you, and now I find that I don't know you at all."

"Oh Daddy, that's not true," Serena said, finally rolling over and looking up at him. "You do know me. You just don't know everything, and I couldn't tell you."

"Because you didn't trust me," he said looking away.

"No!" Serena sat up quickly and put her hand on his arm. "Because I didn't want you in danger! I didn't want you hurt because of me! And... and..." she laid back down and put her hand over her face, "and I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Of what I saw downstairs," she said turning her face away.

Ken turned her face towards him and looked down into her eyes. "What did you see?" he asked.

Serena closed her eyes, trying to keep him away, but she couldn't keep another tear from trickling down her cheek. She didn't answer.

"Serena," Ken said intently. He knew he had hurt her by his reaction and that they had to work this out now.

"I don't want you to stop loving me," she whispered harshly.

"That's never going to happen," he answered back immediately. "Never. I could find out that you were an evil alien who eats people's brains for breakfast and you would still be my daughter."

Serena giggled. Once she started she couldn't stop, but she sat up and threw her arms around her father as she laughed until tears came to her eyes and she sobbed.

He held her gently, rubbing her back until she was quiet again, then raised her face to his. "I will love you no matter what, no matter how angry I am with you, no matter how shocked I am, no matter what." Now it was his turn to look down. "I don't know how I missed it though," he said, shaking his head, "I must have been very blind to miss all the signs that something was going on. I just blamed them on that boy though."

"There was no way you could know," Serena shook her head, and laid it on his shoulder. "Without seeing me transform, you never would have believed it, it's part of the magic that helps keep us safe."

"Then why worry about someone finding out from me?" Ken asked.

"Um..." Serena thought that one over for a long moment. "Uh... good question," she finally answered. "I don't have a clue." She scratched her head. "There's got to be a good reason though, or our guardians wouldn't tell us to keep it a secret so much."

"Guardians?" Ken asked.

"I'll tell you all about it when we get back to the others, okay?" Serena jumped out of bed with her usual energy and started towards the door. She stopped and turned back. "Are you sure it's okay?" she asked softly, her eyes almost begging.

"I'm sure," Ken answered with a smile. Then the smile faded away. "However, we are going to have a long talk about keeping secrets," he continued.

"Yes, Dad," Serena said meekly, grinning at him before turning and going out the door.

Ken sighed in relief as she left, glad to see her back to normal. "Superhero or not, she's still a teenager," he muttered, thinking of her quick mood changes. He shook his head and smiled. "And I wouldn't want her any other way." He set off out the door after her.

As Serena came back in the room, the others looked at her worriedly, but her beaming smile reassured them that everything was all right. "About time you got here," Jake said. "Travis refused to say anything until you got back and my curiosity is killing me!"

"A little frustration's good for the soul," Travis grinned back. He had detransformed while they were gone.

Ken followed Serena into the room and maneuvered her onto the couch between him and Ellen. Reenie gave a sigh of relief as she saw this and moved into Serena's lap. "Is everything all right, Mommy?" she whispered quietly into her ear.

"I think so, sweetheart," Serena smiled hugging her tight and nestling down farther into the cushions.

"So?" she asked in a slightly louder voice, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything!" Jake said immediately.

"I want to know about these guardians," Ken said. He looked over at his wife, "I'd also like to know why you took this so calmly."

Travis got up to get Apollo from the front yard as Serena laughed. "Oh she didn't. She totally freaked."

"I didn't 'totally' freak'," Ellen disagreed. "I was just a little shocked. Now when I learned about Reenie, 'then' I totally freaked."

Ken was staring at them.

"You know that time when Mom got drained by the youma in the mall?" Serena asked. "Well, I thought she was totally unconscious, so I transformed right in front of her."

"If you could tell her, why couldn't you tell me?" Ken asked.

Ellen put her hand on her husband's arm. "There is a reason," she said quietly. "And I'm sure they'll get to it."

Serena nodded. "We will, though most of the explanation's going to have to wait until later," she said. "Reenie's leaving in a couple of hours, and we've still got things to do."

Travis came in with Apollo upon his shoulder. "In answer to your question Uncle Ken, this is my guardian, Apollo."

"But that's just my falcon," Jake said in surprise.

"Not quite," Serena laughed. "Luna, there is my guardian, and Artemis is Mina's." She pointed to where the cats were sitting.

"And I'm Reenie's!" Diana mewed, jumping up.

Once again, the men were reduced to wide eyed, white faced shock.

"Luna, Apollo, why don't you tell them the history of the Silver Millenium, and me and Reenie'll go pack, okay?" Serena asked as she got up.

"I'll go help you," Ellen said, standing up as well. "I've heard the story before."

Luna glared at the departing girls before setting herself down, curling her tail around her feet, and beginning. "A thousand years ago..."

Upstairs, Serena sank to the side of the bed. "He's taking it well," she said in a small voice.

"I thought he would," Ellen responded, sitting down next to her. "He does love you, you know, and in the end, that's going to be the only thing that matters."

"I hope you're right," Serena answered. "I was so afraid he wouldn't want me anymore once he knew. Of course, now he's learning about Princess Serenity. I should be down there," she suddenly got up. "I don't want Dad to think I'm some stuck up princess now or something."

"He won't think that," Ellen laughed. "He knows you too well."

"Makes it hard to believe she's a princess of any kind, right?" Reenie asked with a laugh.

"And they think you are?" Serena sassed back.

"Of course! I'm a perfect princess," Reenie stood up straight and haughty, trying to look down her nose at the two older women.

They laughed, and Serena reached out to pull her into a hug. "Oh I'm going to miss you," she said, squeezing hard.

"I'm going to miss you too," Reenie said, hugging back as hard as she could. "And you, Grandma. I've never had a grandmother before. I really like it."

"And I really like being your grandma," Ellen said, reaching for her own share of hugs. "Are you going back to your own time now?"

Reenie nodded with her head in Ellen's shoulder. "Pluto came back. She's going to take me back home to Crystal Tokyo."

"Then I suppose we'd better get you ready to go, hmm?" Ellen hugged her one more time, then set her down. "Now, what do you want to take back home with you? I'm sure you have lots of clothes in the palace, so you don't need those."

"But I want them," Reenie said instantly. "Cause you bought them for me. Besides, they'll remind me of here and all of you."

Serena and Ellen traded shrugs. "If you want them you can take them," Serena said. "They're your clothes after all."

Ellen went to get an old suitcase, and they started packing the clothes. Mi'a doll was carefully added to the top of the pile, as were several new pictures of Reenie with the Scouts and Serena, Travis and Darian.

"Doesn't seem like much," Reenie said quietly.

"You were only here for a couple of weeks, Reenie," Serena reminded her. "You didn't have time to get many things."

"I guess not," Reenie's voice was sad. Looking at the suitcase, she realized she really was going home. She couldn't wait to see her parents again, and make sure they were all right, but she didn't want to leave her family in this time either. She was just about to get a grandpa, and she already had a grandma, and she didn't have either of those in the palace. She found she was also going to miss her Uncle Sammy, even if he didn't seem to like her much. *_I'm not going to cry,*_ she thought rebelliously. *_I'm seven years old, that's way too old to cry._* She told her conscience to shut up as it reminded her that Serena, at fifteen, still tended to cry quite a bit.

"I suppose that's it," Ellen admitted finally. "And we really should go down and see how they're doing with the story."

The three went downstairs to be met with a surprise. Darien was sitting in one of the chairs, talking easily with the other three. He stood up as the girls came into the room.

"Darien!" Serena squealed. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided I wanted to 'really' meet the man that's been in love with my daughter for more than a thousand years," Ken said.

Serena grinned, delighted. "So you wanted to meet my baby's father, huh?" she asked.

"YOUR BABY! What do you mean your baby?" He turned wrathfully on Darien. "I thought you said you wouldn't be doing anything until she was older! How could she" he was interrupted.

"DADDY!" Serena yelled. When she had his attention, she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, I thought Luna told you."

He was not calmed. "Told me? You expected her to tell me something like this?"

"What's the big deal?" she asked, uncomprehendingly. "I mean, I know it must be a surprise to find out you're going to be a grandfather, but she's not even going to be born for almost another thousand years."

"That's not the point!" he started, then stalled. "A thousand years?"

"That's right," Darien spoke up hesitantly. "Reenie is our daughter from the future. She's going to be born almost a thousand years from now."

Ken stood there for several minutes before looking down at his daughter. "Is that what you meant?"

"Of course, Daddy," Serena said confused. "What did you think I meant?"

"I am 'not' a baby!" Reenie put in, annoyed.

"I know you're not sweetheart," Serena said soothingly. "But you're my baby, regardless of how old you are. Right mom? Isn't that what you always say? That no matter how old I get, I'm always going to be your baby?"

"Yes, dear, but I don't think that was a good way to put it to your father. We really don't need him having a heart attack right now, and he's had quite a number of shocks."

Ken sank into a chair. "That's for sure," he muttered.

Jake was watching all of this with a glint of laughter in his eye. Travis also seemed to be having a hard time controlling himself as he watched the drama unfold before him.

"Congratulations," Jake said to Ken. "You're a grandfather, and at your age too."

Ken looked up. "A grandfather?" He looked over at the pink haired little girl who was staring at him. Only then did everything he had just heard sink in. He motioned Reenie to come over to him. "So you're my granddaughter?" he asked.

Reenie nodded hesitantly. "I will be," she said in a small voice.

Ken looked her over carefully, then smiled. "You look like your mother," he said softly.

"Thank you," Reenie smiled brightly. "My mother's the most beautiful woman in the world," she told him seriously.

"I know she is," Ken answered just as seriously. "Well," he took a quick glance at his wife, "after Ellen that is."

Reenie giggled.

"If you're my granddaughter, does that mean I get a hug?" he asked when she calmed down.

Reenie's smile grew broader as she threw herself into his arms. "Grandpa!" she cried.

Ellen's eyes were wet as she watched the scene.

Apollo broke it up uncomfortably. "It's time to go."

Artemis, Luna and Diana had been spending the last half hour just curled around the kitten, purring and reassuring her and themselves that everything was going to be okay. At Apollo's words, the gave their daughter a kiss on the top of her head and stood up.

Serena gave a low cry. "Already?" she asked. "It's not been three hours!"

"It's been two and a half," Apollo replied in his grating voice. "If we want to be there in time, we really need to leave now."

"It doesn't seem like it's been near that long," Serena complained.

Ken stood up reluctantly, putting Reenie down on the ground. She was pouting as well. "I don't want to go," she muttered.

"I don't want you to go either," Serena agreed.

"But she needs to get home," Travis reminded them both. "Besides, more than likely, she'll be back."

"Do you really think so Uncle Tranq?" Reenie asked hopefully.

He kneeled down in front of her. "Yes, I really think so," he answered. "After all, you've come three times in the last five months. I think you'll be back. And if you can't, then we'll see you in the future, right?"

"It's not the same," Reenie muttered, rebelliously. "Mommy and Serena aren't the same, Daddy and Darien aren't the same, and you and Uncle Tranq aren't the same, not really."

"But we all love you just the same," Darien reminded her, picking her up and holding her close.

"I know," Reenie threw her arms around Darien's neck. "I've never doubted 'that'."

Reenie needed another hug from everyone before she was ready to go. Darien picked up her suitcase as she looked around, looking at all of them searchingly. Making up her mind, she walked over and grabbed her grandfather's hand, and dragged him over to where she could hold her grandmother's hand as well. She looked quickly at her mother to see if she minded.

Serena couldn't help but feel a stab of envy that Reenie had chosen her parents instead of her and Darien to walk with, but it was covered with a wash of happiness as she watched her family. She smiled mistily at Darien as she took his free hand, and they left the house.

The walk to the park was mostly quiet, broken only by Ken's quiet questions to his new granddaughter. They reached the boat dock to find Lita, Amy and Raye already there. Several minutes later, Mina came running up.

For several moments an uneasy silence covered that section of the park. Raye broke it. "You be good and don't get to be too much like Serena, okay?" she asked gently. Reenie sniffled and nodded. "Good," Raye smiled, "One's more than enough." She handed Reenie a good luck charm, and backed away to let the others say their goodbyes.

"Keep up with your studies," Amy reminded her. "But don't forget to have a little fun," she whispered so low no one else could hear.

Reenie laughed, and made a note to remind her teacher in the future that she had said that. "I will," she said.

"You take care of yourself," Lita smiled, handing her a box of cookies.

Mina came forward. "Come back soon so you can hear all the new gossip."

"Maybe I'll have some of my own to tell," Reenie whispered back.

"You'd better be a lot older then," Serena said severely, obviously overhearing.

"You sound just like grandpa," Reenie giggled.

Serena laughed too, then sobered, and she and Darien took Reenie off to one side for a private goodbye.

Ellen, Ken and Jake watched in awe as a gate slowly opened on the end of the pier and Sailor Pluto stepped through. Serena, Darien and Reenie rejoined the group with tears drying on all of their faces. Reenie and Diana went around to everyone, gathering last hugs, pettings and advice. With a deep breath, Reenie and Diana followed Pluto into the time tunnel.

The Scouts and her family waved until the gate totally closed. Then Serena burst into tears and headed for her mothers arms.

As Reenie and Pluto reached the gate, Reenie stopped. "Is it really going to be there?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes, Small Lady," Pluto said comfortingly. "Crystal Tokyo is back where it belongs."

Reenie nodded and stepped through with her eyes closed. Diana's gasp, and a familiar voice calling her name made her open them. There was Crystal Tokyo in all it's glory, and running towards them was...

"MOTHER!" Reenie ran forward to be held tightly in Neo-Queen Serenity's arms. "Oh mother, I'm so glad to see you!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Small Lady," Serenity said, hugging tightly. "And how did you like your trip back this time?"

"Oh, I loved it," Reenie said as she held tight to her mother's hand and they walked into the palace. "By the way mommy, did Sammy and Mika ever get married?"

Serenity laughed. "Yes they did," she nodded. "They got married soon after they graduated and had five kids. In fact, their eldest daughter was named Serena."

"So they lived happily ever after?"

"Happily ever after, just like your father and I," Serenity agreed with a smile.

"And Uncle Tranq too?"

"Well, he and his wife certainly seem happy to me," Serenity answered. "Which reminds me, you're going to be a cousin soon." Reenie looked up at her wide-eyed and Serenity nodded. "They're having a baby." Serenity shook her head. "Tranq's so excited you won't believe it."

"He'll make a good daddy," Reenie said seriously. "But not as good as mine!" she almost yelled as she glimpsed her father across the hall and ran into his arms.

Travis walked slowly down the street, sunk in his own thoughts. His eye was suddenly caught by a glimpse of pale blond hair. Without his willing it to, hope jumped into his heart. He looked carefully into the shop and spied a girl about the same age as he with very pale blond hair in a braid down her back, sitting and eating an ice cream.

*_Is it her?_* he thought to himself. *_Or is it Quartz?_* From the back it was impossible to tell, but his heart was telling him it was Crystal. He took a deep breath and walked in. He headed toward her, then at the last minute turned toward the front of the shop. *_Come on Travis, get a grip!_* he thought as he ordered an ice cream. *_It's not like you don't know her. Well, she doesn't know you do, but that doesn't count. You know what she likes, you can get a conversation started without any problems. Don't be such a wimp!_* With that mental lecture, he turned back towards the girl.

"Hi," he said quietly, standing next to her table. "My name is Travis, can I sit down?"

Crystal looked up into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. *_He's cute!_* was her first thought. *_And he wants to sit with me_?* "Sure," she said softly. "My name is Crystal."

"Hello Crystal, it's nice to meet you."

FIN

And done! Thanks for reading!


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